Submission to the Transport Department on New Franchises for New Lantao Bus and Kowloon Motor Bus

1. The Consumer Council (the Council) is pleased to submit its views to the Transport Department (TD) on the new franchises for New Lantao Bus Company (1973) Limited (NLB) and The Kowloon Motor Bus Company (1933) Limited (KMB), whose current bus franchises will expire on 1 March 2027 and 1 July 2027 respectively, and with whom the Government is planning to engage in discussions on granting new 10-year franchises.

The Council’s overall views

2. According to the figures mentioned by the Government, KMB has an average daily patronage of 2.5 million passenger journeys in 2025 while that of NLB is 101,100_[1].  Given the vast amount of bus services provided, it is important to ensure these two bus service operators are delivering quality and reliable services. 

3. The Council notes that according to the passenger opinion survey commissioned by the TD on the performance of KMB and NLB, there is high satisfaction with the overall quality of services, with 93% of respondents being “very satisfied” or “satisfied” in the case of KMB, and 91% in the case of NLB_[2]. 

4. The number of complaint cases from the Council similarly suggests that consumers are generally satisfied with bus services.  Between January 2022 and August 2026, the Council received 334 complaints related to bus services.  Of these, 176 complaints involved KMB while 21 complaints concerned NLB.  Given the huge number of passenger journeys served by the two bus service operators, the complaint numbers may be deemed as insignificant.  A breakdown of the types of complaints that the KMB and NLB were involved in is presented below.  For both bus service operators, service quality was the main category of complaints (44% for KMB and 81% for NLB), followed by price or claim disputes (31% for KMB and 19% for NLB).

Complaints involving KMB

^* As of August 2026.

^# Such as complaints over expired goods or date, wrong model or product, and suspected unsafe service.

Complaints involving NLB

^* As of August 2026.

5. In the following paragraphs, the Council expresses its views and suggestions on specific aspects of the bus services of KMB and NLB, based primarily on complaints received by the Council.  The Council hopes that the Government will take these into consideration in future discussions with KMB and NLB, and to encourage them to deliver even better services.
    

Service reliability

6. The Council notes that consumers have complained about delayed or missing bus services from KMB, giving rise to complaints of service quality and delay in delivery or services.  Consumers alleged that buses showed up late, or in some cases not at all, and that there were no notifications from KMB about delays or cancellations. 

7. The Council observes that the average lost trip rates for the KMB in 2023, 2024 and 2025 were 3.6%, 2.7% and 3.1% respectively_[3].  While some lost trips may be attributable to factors uncontrollable by KMB, such as inclement weather in the third quarter of 2023_[4], the Council encourages KMB to further improve its service reliability, noting that it was able to achieve relatively lower average lost trip rates of 1.5% and 2.0% back in 2016 and 2017 respectively_[5].  The Council also suggests KMB to ensure that information about delays or cancellations, including the information conveyed via its mobile app and information display panels in bus stations, are shared with the public in a timely and accurate manner.

Attitude of drivers

8. The Council notes that consumers have complained about poor attitudes of KMB and NLB bus drivers, giving rise to complaints of service quality.  Specifically, complainants recalled being scolded by bus drivers and in some cases were even subjected to foul language or threats.  The Council also notes that some complaints involved tourists who faced language barriers or were not familiar with the local payment system but were thus subjected to rough manners or even abusive language from the bus drivers. 

9. While understanding that bus driving is demanding and stressful, the Council considers that the safety and welfare of passengers lie in the hands of bus drivers, and thus it is important that bus drivers can keep their passions in control.  According to TD’s passenger survey conducted in 2025, about nine in ten respondents were satisfied with the service attitude of bus drivers or staff of KMB (88.7%) and NLB (92.7%), which suggest that most bus drivers of KMB and NLB have been able to deliver services in a professional manner.  The Council encourages KMB and NLB to review complaints they receive against their bus drivers and update the training provided to their bus drivers based on the complaints, to ensure that they can consistently exercise restraint and de-escalate tense situations in a professional manner in the face of any new challenges.  For drivers of bus routes serving control points, their demeanour and behaviour will provide tourists a first impression of Hong Kong, so it is even more important that they demonstrate professionalism, patience and empathy. 

Interchange concessions

10. The Council has received numerous complaints involving consumers alleging they had been charged extra fares where interchange concessions were involved.  Typically, complainants had expected but were not provided with discounted fares when taking another bus in the second-leg of their journey, giving rise to complaints of price or claim disputes.  Some complainants alleged that the instructions or information provided by bus service operators were not sufficiently clear or specific, causing them to misunderstand and failing to meet the conditions for interchange concessions.  For instance, a complainant considered that as the wording on the KMB website was “suggested” rather than “specific” when mentioning stops which could enjoy interchange concessions, the complainant deemed that interchange concessions should still be applicable at other stops.  Meanwhile, another complainant was surprised at not being able to enjoy interchange concession, when the interchange took place at the Bus-Bus Interchange in Wong Tai Sin.   

11. The Council applauds the efforts of bus service operators providing interchange concessions, as these can offer lower fares for consumers, and encourages KMB and NLB to continue to expand the scope of interchange concessions.  The Council suggests bus service operators to review their information on interchange concessions, including criteria and applicable interchange locations, and consider if these are presented in a clear, understandable and accessible manner. 

Monthly pass scheme

12. The Council has received complaints against KMB over the marketing of the monthly pass.  For example, there were complainants who failed to enjoy the benefits from the “buy-three-get-one-free” monthly pass promotion by KMB, and some alleged this was due to KMB not explaining sufficiently the conditions required, such as needing to enrol when purchasing the first monthly pass or the deadline for rebate.  There were also complaints about the monthly pass scheme being misleading about its applicability to jointly-operated routes.  Complainants alleged that the monthly pass was advertised to include a jointly-operated route, but as the monthly pass did not cover buses run by other operators, consumers opined that if advertisements had mentioned instead that some routes are only covered for a certain time, it would have alerted them from making the purchase.    
13. The Council welcomes KMB providing the monthly pass as it can deliver savings for frequent users.  The Council suggests KMB to review and improve the clarity of the usage descriptions of its monthly passes.  

Green transportation

14. While unrelated to complaints from consumers, the Council calls upon bus service operators such as KMB and NLB to step up their efforts in providing green and clean transportation services.  The Council notes that the Government targets to achieve zero emissions from all road vehicles before 2050_[6].  The Council opines that replacement of traditional fuel-propelled buses with buses running on clean energy vehicles, such as electric buses, shall be a key factor in achieving this green target.  Besides, operational expenses of electric buses may be better insulated from oil shocks, making fee hikes less necessary in case of oil price surges.  

15. The Council observes that according to the Forward Planning Programme of KMB covering the period 2026 to 2030, KMB plans to procure over 300 new electric buses, yet this figure only amounts to about 8% of its bus fleet in 2025.  In the case of NLB, there are plans to procure around 40 new electric buses, which is roughly equal to 27% of its bus fleet in 2025_[7].  The Council suggests the Government to further encourage the bus service operators to speed up their procurement and operation of electric buses, especially for KMB, given that it only operated 73 electric buses in 2025_[8].  In addition, the Government should monitor closely how well the bus service operators are keeping up with their plans to procure and operate electric buses.  For instance, the Council observes that KMB had previously mentioned in 2022 that it expected to have 82 electric buses in service in 2023_[9].    
     

Conclusion

16. Every day, numerous consumers ride on buses provided by NLB and KMB.  It is important that they deliver, and will keep on delivering, quality and reliable services at a low cost and fair manner to consumers, while minimising the impact on the environment.  The Council hopes that the two bus service operators can keep on enhancing their services and that the Government can take the above observations and suggestions into account when engaging in discussions with them over the granting of new franchises.
     

    ---

    _[1] Transport Department (2026). Franchises of Kowloon Motor Bus (1933) Limited and New Lantao Bus (1973) Limited. https://www.td.gov.hk/filemanager/en/content_5283/Information%20Note%20Franchise%20Renewal%20Eng.pdf, p. 2.

    _[2] Consumer Search Hong Kong Limited (2025). Passenger Opinion Survey on the Performance of The Kowloon Motor Bus Company (1933) Limited and New Lantao Bus Company (1973) Limited - Survey Report. https://www.td.gov.hk/filemanager/en/content_5283/POS%20Report%20EN.pdf, p. 7.

    _[3] Kowloon Motor Bus Company (1933) Limited (n.d.). More about KMB 2025. https://www.kmb.hk/morekmb/moreKMB2025.pdf, p. 12.

    _[4] Transport Department (2026). Franchises of Kowloon Motor Bus (1933) Limited and New Lantao Bus (1973) Limited. https://www.td.gov.hk/filemanager/en/content_5283/Information%20Note%20Franchise%20Renewal%20Eng.pdf, Annex A.

    _[5] Kowloon Motor Bus Company (1933) Limited (n.d.). More about KMB 2025. https://www.kmb.hk/morekmb/moreKMB2025.pdf, p. 12.

    _[6] Environment and Ecology Bureau (2024). Green Transformation Roadmap of Public Buses and Taxis. https://www.eeb.gov.hk/sites/default/files/pdf/Bus_Taxi_Roadmap_eng.pdf, p. 13.

    _[7] Transport Department (2026). Franchises of Kowloon Motor Bus (1933) Limited and New Lantao Bus (1973) Limited. https://www.td.gov.hk/filemanager/en/content_5283/Information%20Note%20Franchise%20Renewal%20Eng.pdf, Annex A.

    _[8] Kowloon Motor Bus Company (1933) Limited (n.d.). More about KMB 2025. https://www.kmb.hk/morekmb/moreKMB2025.pdf, p. 2.

    _[9] Kowloon Motor Bus Company (1933) Limited (2022). Environment and Ecology Bureau learnt about KMB’s eBus development Recognised KMB’s efforts to zero-emission. https://kmb.hk/news_detail.html?id=480&year=2022.