The Hong Kong Island Mid-Levels Bus Route 13 is operated by Citybus. It runs between Admiralty (Tamar Street) and Kotewall Road (Mid-Levels)[Remark 1] via Lan Kwai Fong, Arbuthnot Road, Caine Road, Bonham Road (MTR Sai Ying Pun Station) and Park Road for outbound trips; and via Robinson Road, Castle Road, Caine Road, Upper Albert Road and Garden Road for return trips.
History[]
- 16 April 1974: China Motor Bus (CMB) introduced Route 13 between Star Ferry and Kotewall Road to tie in with the implementation of the Mid-Levels bus-only lane in the Mid-Levels area. As the area around Kotewall Road was not previously served by franchised buses, luxury buses with high-backed seats and no standees were introduced to enhance the attractiveness of the route to residents.[1] The no-standee restriction was lifted no later than the early 1980s.
- August 1988: Trial run of single-decker air-conditioned buses was implemented with the deployment of MCW Metrorider buses (CM).
- 1 September 1998: The CMB Franchised Bus licence was ended and the route was taken over by New World First Bus (NWFB).
- 14 September 1998: Upgraded to full air-conditioned service, with the last bus hours from Central extended to 23:30.[2]
- 10 October 1999: The intermediate stop outside City Hall on Connaught Road Central was cancelled towards Kotewall Road.[3][4]
- Mid-2000s (date to be confirmed): No longer stopping at "Park View Villa" stop towards Kotewall Road.
- 22 July 2012: To enhance frequency stability,[5] Central-bound buses were diverted via Upper Albert Road, Garden Road, Des Voeux Road Central, Ice House Street and Connaught Road Central, no longer via Arbuthnot Road, Wyndham Street and Pedder Street (still pass through on holidays), which marks the first change of routing in the 38 years of operation of this route.[6]
- Stops at "Universal Trade Centre", "Hotel LKF", "Zetland Street", "Printing House" and "Pedder Street" (remain observed on holidays) were cancelled and replaced by "Government House", "St. John's Cathedral" and "Alexandra House" (non stop on holidays).
- 25 June 2018: "Next Bus" Arrival Enquiry service was introduced on this route.[7]
- 14 August 2022: Extended to Admiralty - Tamar Street, but still observing Central (City Hall) when going to Admiralty[8][9] to tie in with the change of service hours of Route 12M to only between 07:00 - 08:55 on Mondays to Fridays only.
- 1 July 2023: Changed to be operated by Citybus following the Citybus and NWFB Franchised Bus Network Merger.
- 27 August 2023: Interchange concession with Route 40 was introduced to tie in with the cancellation of Wah Fu-bound services of Route 40M.
Historical route information[]
Details of the past service hours and headways, fares and other route information of this route are set out in the "Historical route information" sub-page of this article.
Service Hours and Headways[]
The latest update is on 8/2022, please refer to the link below for the official route information.
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Detailed Departure Timetable |
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Citybus Route 13/Detailed Departure Timetable |
- This route provides "Next Bus" Arrival Time Enquiry Service.
Fares[]
Journey/Boarding Stop | Fare |
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Full Fare | $6.8 |
Section Fares (to Kotewall Road) | |
from St. Stephen's Secondary School | $4.7 |
Fare Remarks |
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Bus-Bus Interchange Concessions[]
Template:BBIIntro Template:Citybus Route 13 Interchange Concession Scheme
Bus deployments[]
Three single-decker buses and one double-deck bus are used on this route, mainly the BYD K9R 11.6m (2051, 2052), the Enviro200 MMC 10.7m (2501-2505) single-decker bus and the Enviro400 Euro V 10.4m (3800-3859) double-decker bus, occasionally with Enviro500 MMC 11.3m (4040-4091) double-deckers.
Some buses on this route will go directly to Admiralty (West) to drop off and rest, and will only be empty when the next bus is ready to leave to pick up passengers at Admiralty - Tamar Street.
Due to the road conditions on Kotewall Road and Oaklands Street, this route is normally served only with the above buses.
Bus deployment evolution history[]
Bus deployment evolution history of Citybus Route 13 |
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When the route was commenced, it was mainly served by the short-height and short-length Guy Arab V (LS). It was not until the 1980s that the same type of bus (LX) with an Alexander body was used.[10] In 1991, five of the 9.7 metre MCW Metrobuses (MC) were vacated when route 260 was switched to use Dennis Dart buses (DC), with Leyland Victory II (LV) buses also occasionally running on this route. At the end of the CMB franchise, the five MCs on this route were MC2, MC3, MC5, MC7 and MC10. As the majority of the Central to Mid-Levels lift routes (e.g. No. 3,[Remark 2] 12 and 12M) had already been taken up by Citybus, this route became the only lift route of New World First Bus (NWFB) serving Mid-Levels West and was highly valued by the company as the first major service enhancement. 13 days after NWFB took over the Hong Kong Island routes (13 September 1998), the company switched this route to full air-conditioned service, deploying single-decker buses (DC and 20XX, with the latter arrived Hong Kong not long ago). After the service was upgraded and the patronage was increased, NWFB replaced its fleet with the Dennis Trident 10.3m (33XX, occasionally the 10.6m version 16XX) double-deckers, which became the main fleet of this route. In 2016, as the Dennis Darts (20XX) and Dennis Tridents (16XX, 33XX) were due to retire, the Young Man JNP6120GR 11.6m (260X) and Enviro400 Euro V 10.4m (38XX) were added to the fleet, and in 2017 the Euro 6 Enviro200 MMC 10.7m (2501-2505). In 2018, this route was approved for use with 11m buses.[11] However, 11-metre double-deck buses are in fact rarely used. From 25 May 2019, this route was began to be served by the BYD K9R 11.6m (2051, 2052) and Mainland Chinese brand buses Yixing SDL6120EVG (2053, 2054) electric buses, which used to serve routes 78 and 81; however, they were withdrawn later. Following the 2023 Citybus and NWFB Franchised Bus Network Merger, Young Man JNP6120GR of Citybus fleet (1830-1845) began to become one of the common models on this route. |
Routing[]
to Kotewall Road[]
To Kotewall Road: The distance of this route is approx. 4.8km, and the journey time is approximately 35mins. (The average speed is 8.2km/h.)
Via: Tamar Street, Harcourt Road, Cotton Tree Drive, Flyover, Queensway, Queen's Road Central, D'Aguilar Street, Wellington Street, Lyndhurst Terrace, Hollywood Road, Arbuthnot Road, Caine Road, Bonham Road, Park Road, Lyttelton Road, Oaklands Avenue and Kotewall Road
Citybus Route 13 (Admiralty (Tamar Street) → Kotewall Road (Mid-levels)) | ||||
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No. | Area | Road | Bus stop name | Remarks |
1 | Admiralty | Tamar Street | Admiralty - Tamar Street |
|
2 | Central | Queen's Road Central | HSBC Main Building | |
3 | D'Aguilar Street | Lan Kwai Fong | ||
4 | Lyndhurst Terrace | Lyndhurst Terrace | ||
5 | Hollywood Road | Tai Kwun | ||
6 | Arbuthnot Road | The Centrium | ||
7 | Mid-levels | Caine Road | Caritas Centre | |
8 | Dr. Sun Yat-sen Museum | |||
9 | Ladder Street | near Hong Kong Museum of Medical Sciences | ||
10 | Seymour Road | |||
11 | Bonham Road | Euston Court | near David Trench Rehabilitation Centre | |
12 | Eastern Street |
|||
13 | Park Road | St. Stephen's Girls College | Section Fare begins here | |
14 | Euston Court | |||
15 | Lyttelton Road | St. Stephen's Girls College | ||
16 | Oaklands Avenue | Villa Veneto | ||
17 | Kotewall Road | Alpine House | near Emerald Gardens | |
18 | Hatton Road | Alighting Only | ||
19 | Kotewall Road |
to Admiralty (Tamar Street)[]
To Admiralty: The distance of this route is approx. 3.7km, and the journey time is approximately 25mins. (The average speed is 8.9km/h.)
Routing | Roads observed |
① Regular |
Kotewall Road, Oaklands Avenue, Lyttelton Road, Park Road, Robinson Road, Castle Road, Seymour Road, Castle Road, Caine Road, Upper Albert Road, Garden Road, Queen's Road Central, Des Voeux Road Central, Ice House Street, Connaught Road Central, Roundabout, Connaught Road Central, Edinburgh Place, Harcourt Road, Cotton Tree Drive, Queensway and Tamar Street |
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②* Holidays omit Ice House Street |
......, Garden Road, Queen's Road Central, Pedder Street, Connaught Road Central, Edinburgh Place, ...... |
Citybus Route 13 (Kotewall Road (Mid-levels) → Admiralty (Tamar Street)) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
No. | Area | Road | Bus stop name | Remarks |
1 | Mid-levels | Kotewall Road | Kotewall Road | |
2 | Alpine House | |||
3 | Oaklands Avenue | Villa Veneto | ||
4 | Lyttelton Road | St. Stephen's Girls College | ||
5 | Robinson Road | Ying Wa Girls' School | ||
6 | Peaksville | |||
7 | Castle Road | Merry Court | ||
8 | Woodlands Terrace | Compulsory Stop | ||
9 | Caine Road | Caritas Centre | ||
10 | Upper Albert House | Government House | ||
11 | Central | Garden Road | St. John's Cathedral | |
12 @ | Central | Ice House Street | Alexandra House |
Applicable to departures using Routing ① |
* | Central | Pedder Street | Pedder Street |
Applicable to departures using Routing ② near The Landmark |
13 | Central | Connaught Road Central | Jardine House |
|
14 | Central (City Hall) | |||
15 | Admiralty | Tamar Street | Admiralty - Tamar Street |
Ridership[]
This route was not extended to the new Central Ferry Piers when the Central Star Ferry Pier was relocated away from Edinburgh Place in 2006, resulting in the loss of a large number of ferry-interchanging passengers; and as similar services are provided by Routes 12 (23A before 14 July 2013), 12M and 40M in the uphill direction, the patronage is not too high.
According to the information in the relevant documents of previous years, the patronage figures of this route are as follows:
- February 1993 (CMB): The monthly patronage was 154,865.[12]
- 2014: The average occupancy rate during peak hours was 62%; while the average occupancy rate during off-peak hours was 30%.[13]。.
- 2015: Before the opening of the MTR West Island Line, the average occupancy rate during the busiest half-hour was 58%; after the opening it was 55%, showing a drop in patronage.[14]
- 2018: The occupancy rate during the busiest hour was 51%.[15]
- 2022: An occupancy rate of 62% was recorded in the busiest hour.
Since the relocation of the Central Star Ferry Pier in 2006, bus companies have attempted to expand the service area of this route under the hill:
- 2008: Citybus proposed to cancel route 12 and replace it with a rerouted route and relocation of the terminus to Central Ferry Piers.
- Public Transport Re-organisation Plans to tie in with the Commissioning of the West Island Line and South Island Line (East): The first proposal was to cancel the service and merge it with Route 12M; the cancellation was later shelved and the frequency was adjusted according to changes in patronage, and the Central terminus was then proposed to be relocated to Exchange Square and to run eastbound via the entire section of Robinson Road instead of via Castle Road, Caine Road and Upper Albert Road.
- 2018: Suggested to be extended to Central (Rumsey Street) and enhance the frequency. However, the proposal involved a reduction in the frequency of Routes 12 and 12M, which was particularly opposed by District Councillors, and the reorganisation was shelved.
- 2022: Suggested to extend to Admiralty - Tamar Street with interchange concessions with Route 12 to tie in with the reduction in service on Route 12M was eventually approved and implemented on 14 August of the same year.
Related Incidents[]
- 23 April 1989: At 3:30pm, a Central (City Hall)-bound Guy Arab V hit and ran over the left foot of a 73 year old man outside No. 71 Ice House Street in Central.[17]
- 1992: A Central (City Hall)-bound CMB MCW Metrobus (MC4/BU2257) was suspected to have malfunctioned on the braking system at Castle Road on Mid-levels and shovelled onto the pavement to the right, pinning a foreign musician between the front of the vehicle and the stone wall of Kom Tong Hall (now the Dr. Sun Yat-sen Museum). The bus was later repaired and returned to service and fitted with a Dennis Condor-type heat sink.[18]
- 17 November 2012: A Central-bound Dennis Dart (2089/HZ1379) collided head-on with an NWFB Enviro500 (4033/PE5963) on Route 111 at the junction of Ice House Street and Des Voeux Road Central, injuring two persons.[19][20]
"Ominous 13"[]
In the early days of CMB, new routes were assigned numbers according to the order in which they were introduced. In 1955, when CMB introduced Route 12, the next route to be introduced should have been numbered 13, but a controversy arose among the senior management of CMB because of the "ominous 13", and the subsequent new route was numbered 14. Subsequent new route numbers have always skipped the number 13, and by 1973 the route numbering had reached the number 25.
In 1973, when CMB was about to launch a new route between Central and Kotewall Road, CMB Director Ngan Shing-kwan, who was a Christian, wrote a newspaper article saying that he did not believe in the concept of "ominous 13" and decided to use "13" as the numbering of the new route.[21]
Gallery[]

Remarks[]
Related Articles[]
- CMB Route 3 (Cancelled)
- Citybus Route 3B (Cancelled)
- Citybus Route 12
- Citybus Route 12M
- NWFB Route 23A (Cancelled)
- Citybus Route 23B
- Citybus Route 40M
- Hong Kong Island GMB Route No. 3
- Hong Kong Island GMB Route 3A
- Hong Kong Island GMB Route 45A
References[]
- ↑ Leung, Y.M., Public Transport C.M.B. Route Studies - Inventory & Characteristics - Route No. 13(Hong Kong: Department of Transport and Surveys, Works Bureau, Hong Kong Government, July 1974).
- ↑ New World First Bus Services Limited, "新巴提高路線十三號的服務水平" (NWFB Enhances Service Quality of Route 13) [News Release], 12 September 1998.
- ↑ New World First Bus Services Limited, "新巴中環路線遷移巴士站" (Stop Relocation of NWFB Routes at Central) [News Release], 9 October 1999.
- ↑ Transport Department HKSARG, "Two more bus stops at Central to be rationalised" [News Bulletin], 8 October 1999.
- ↑ 新巴第13號路線改道諮詢 (Consultation on re-routing of NWFB Route 13)Central and Western District Council Traffic and Transport Committee Paper No. C10/2012.
- ↑ New World First Bus Services Limited, "Diversion of NWFB Route 13" [News Release], 20 July 2012.
- ↑ Citybus Limited & New World First Bus Services Limited, "NWFB Extends “Next Bus” Arrival Service to More Routes" [News Release], 25 June 2018.
- ↑ Citybus Limited & New World First Bus Services Limited, "New Service Arrangements for Citybus Route 12, 12M and NWFB Route 13" [News Release], 10 August 2022.
- ↑ Transport Department HKSARG, "Service Adjustment of NWFB Route No. 13 (Central (City Hall) – Kotewall Road)" [Traffic Advice], 12 August 2022.
- ↑ The buses used at that time were LX299-307, see: #92, 中記離開巴士業務十五周年,歡迎「親中派」一齊黎懷緬一番 (CMB ended its franchised bus businesses for 15 years, let's welcome pro-CMB fans for a moment of nostalgia), discusshk.
- ↑ 新巴13解禁 (Vehicle Restrictions on NWFB 13 relaxed), hkitalk.net.
- ↑ (1990s) 中巴1993年5月- 廣告收費表及客量數據 ((1990s) CMB May 1993 - Advertised Fare Tables and Patronage Figures)), hkitalk.net.
- ↑ 配合西港島線通車的公共交通服務之最新修訂重組計劃 (Public Transport Re-organisation Plans to tie in with the Commissioning of the West Island Line), Annex 5, Jan 2014.
- ↑ 配合西港島線通車的公共交通服務之最新修訂重組計劃 (Public Transport Re-organisation Plans to tie in with the Commissioning of the West Island Line), Jan 2015.
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
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tag; no text was provided for refs named2018-19RPP
- ↑ 中西區區議會第三次交通及運輸委員會第三次會議之動議、修訂動議及再修訂動議 (Motions, Amendments and Further Amendments to the Third Meeting of the Third Traffic and Transport Committee of the Central and Western District Council), 7 Apr 2016.
- ↑ 遭巴士撞倒 古稀翁斷腳 (Old man hit by bus and left foot was ran over), Wah Kiu Yat Po, 24 Apr 1989.
- ↑ Related Photo, China Motor Bus Memorial Page.
- ↑ 新巴中環迎頭相撞 (NWFB buses collided head on at Central), Apple Daily, 17 Nov 2012.
- ↑ 新記111同13喺中環互炒 (NWFB Route 111 and 13 buses collided with each other at Central), hkitalk.net.
- ↑ "二十世紀港島區巴士路線發展史" (Development of Hong Kong Island Bus Routes in 20th Century), Stanley Yung Wai-chiu.
External Links[]
- Citybus Official Route Information: 13 (to Kotewall Road (Mid-levels))
- Citybus Official Route Information: 13 (to Admiralty (Tamar Street))
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Template:List of Central and Western District Bus Routes