The Hong Kong Island Mid-Levels Bus Route 15 is operated by Citybus. It runs between Central (Pier 5) [Remark 1] (Some morning departures terminate at Exchange Square) and The Peak, via Admiralty, Wan Chai (Queen's Road East), Stubbs Road and Peak Road, which is packaged as "Peak Explorer".
Both Central and The Peak are located in the Central and Western District, however heavy vehicles are prohibited from entering Magazine Gap Road, which is the more direct link between the two locations, therefore a more tortuous routing has to be used by going up and down the hill via Stubbs Road in Wan Chai District, making it one of the few routes with termini in the same district but need to observe other districts with stops, as well as the sole whole-day public transport service running through the entire Stubbs Road.
History[]
Bus services on The Peak before regional bus franchise[]
- 10 February 1923, 10:00pm - 12 February 1923, 7:00am: The Hongkong Hotel Bus operated an unnumbered temporary bus service between The Hongkong Hotel and Peak Church. Temporary bus service was introduced to carry affected passengers to and from the Peak due to the suspension of the Peak Tram.[1]
- 23 May 1925: In conjunction with the opening of the new road from Wong Nai Chung Gap to Repulse Bay, The Hongkong Hotel Bus operated two routes from the Peak Hotel (now The Peak Tower) to and from the Hong Kong Hotel and Repulse Bay respectively.[2]
- 19 July 1926: A typhoon disrupted traffic on Stubbs Road and suspended bus services to and from the Peak, which were not resumed when the road was reopened.[Remark 2]
Post-war era[]
- 1 July 1960: China Motor Bus (CMB) launched a new route 15, running between Central Ferry Piers and The Peak.
- 1 October 1960: Changed to a regular route service.
- 18 December 1967: Buses towards The Peak were diverted via Cotton Tree Drive instead of Murray Road.
- May 1972: Double-decker bus service began on this route.
- 11 September 1972: The terminal was moved from Vehicular Ferry Pier to Central Bus Terminal.
- 12 August 1973: Buses towards The Peak were detoured via Edinburgh Square.
- 7 October 1974: Due to the increase in charge in government parking lots from the month, this route was detoured around Guildford Road and Mansfield Road from morning to evening on weekdays in order to attract private car owners not to drive to and from the office.
- 18 July 1976: After reaching Queen's Road Central, buses towards Central Bus Terminal no longer turned right to Pedder Street but instead diverted to Queen Victoria Street.
- 8 October 1982: To tie in with the implementation of the Public Transport Priority Scheme in Central, buses towards Central were diverted via Des Voeux Road Central instead of Queen's Road Central.
- 1 February 1985: Central District terminus was moved to Central (Exchange Square).
- August 1988: Single-decker air-conditioned buses were introduced on a trial basis with MCW Metrorider buses (CM) being used.
- 18 August 1995: Single-decker air-conditioned buses were introduced on this route.
- 1 September 1998: Changed to be operated by New World First Bus (NWFB) following the end of CMB bus franchise.
- 10 October 1999: No longer stopping at "Jardine House" on Connaught Road Central for The Peak direction.
After the Millenium[]
- 2000: Upgraded to full air-conditioned service.
- 22 June 2000: Service time was extended with the last bus in Central extended to 00:15; the last bus from The Peak was extended to 01:00.
- 25 April 2005: Interchange concessions to Citybus routes 10, 789 and NWFB routes 720 and M722 (now Route 722) to coincide with the cessation of service of Citybus Route 515.
- 12 November 2006: In response to the relocation of Star Ferry Pier in Central from Edinburgh Place to Central Piers 7 and 8:
- Except for the daily departures before 10:00, the rest of the departures are extended to Central Pier 5;
- All departures would observe Exchange Square.
- 12 August 2013: New en-route stop at "The Opus Hong Kong" on Stubbs Road was added for The Peak direction.
- 31 August 2018: "Next Bus" Enquiry System was introduced to this route.
- 10 June 2019: Service hours of departures detouring via Guildford Road and Mansfield Road was shortened to Mondays and Saturdays before 15:30 from Central and before 16:00 from The Peak.
- 19 December 2022: The first bus hours to The Peak was advanced to 06:10 from Central (Exchange Square).
- 19 June 2023: The first bus hours to The Peak was advanced to 06:00 from Central (Exchange Square).
- 1 July 2023: Changed to be operated by Citybus following the Citybus and NWFB Franchised Bus Network Merger.
- 12 August 2023: Departures from Central (Pier 5) between 10:00 and 22:00 on Saturdays, Sundays and Public Holidays were detoured on a trial basis via Central Pier 8 with an additional stop at "Central (Star Ferry)" on Man Kwong Street.[3] The arrangement was formally implemented on 11 January 2025 and extended to all trips departing from Central (Pier 5) throughout the day.[4]
- 24 September 2023: The first bus time from The Peak during Sundays and public holidays was advanced to 06:45.[5]
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 1/2025, please refer to the link below for the official route information.
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Headways will be enhanced during Sundays, Public Holidays and specified festivities.
- This route provides "Next Bus" Arrival Time Enquiry Service.
Fares[]
| Fare Remarks |
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Bus-Bus Interchange Concessions[]
Passengers using the same Octopus card to interchange to the designated route after this route within a specific time, or transfer from the designated route to this route can enjoy an interchange concession. The details are as follows: (Half discount for children and senior citizens.) Template:Citybus Route 15 Bus-Bus Interchange Concession Scheme
Bus deployments[]
7 double-decker buses are deployed to this route. Due to the road width at Stubbs Road and Peak Road as well as the height restriction of Mount Kellett Road flyover, this route can only be deployed with Enviro400 Euro V 10.4m (38XX, 315XX) double-deckers.
Bus deployment evolution history[]
| Bus deployment evolution history of Citybus Route 15 |
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As Stubbs Road and Peak Road which this route observes are built on a hilly terrain, the road surface is narrow and winding, and buses travelling on this route have to cross the Mount Kellett Road Flyover (or Jardine's Bridge) with a height restriction of only 4.3 metres underneath the bridge, which is of great historical significance as the Jardine's Lookout Bridge was opened in 1912, the choice of buses used for this route has been very restricted, and buses with a length of not more than 10.7 metres and a height of not more than 4.2 metres have been the main choice. Buses with a length of not more than 10.7 metres and a height of not more than 4.2 metres were used. The route was initially served by single-decker buses, which were later converted to double-decker Guy Arab V. During the rebuilding of these buses, CMB started to retrofit the local portion of the buses with a special low-profile version of the buses for future deployment on this route, which was given the fleet code LS, where "L" stands for low-height. In the 1970s, CMB ordered 30 short-bodied 30-foot Leyland Jumbo double-deck buses (fleet number SF, nicknamed Short Jumbo) to take advantage of their short stature (4.2 metres high) and to facilitate travelling on this route. The first Daimler Jumbo in Hong Kong (RLX1/AX6001) was used on this route, but it did not climb the hills satisfactorily, and has not been seen on this route since. In addition to the Short Jumbo, the 33-foot long-bodied Leyland Jumbo (LF) and Leyland Olympian (BR) also served on this route, and in 1981, CMB purchased six Dennis Dominators (SD), which were the mainstay of the fleet on this route until they were all retired in 1997. On 16 August 1995, air-conditioned buses were added to the route as they became more popular. The air-conditioned double-deck buses in CMB's fleet were of normal height and due to the height restriction of the Jardine's Bazaar, CMB could only deploy single-decker buses with Dennis Dart. Prior to the end of CMB's franchise, there were 7 scheduled buses on this route, namely 5 Leyland Jumbos (SF) and 2 Dennis Darts (DC). When NWFB first took over this route, as there were no double-decker air-conditioned buses to replace the existing buses, and the route still relied mainly on the 30-foot Leyland Jumbo (SF) and Dennis Darts (DC and 20XX), which were fitted with NWFB's new orange cashboxes, which was very different from the practice of retaining the original cashboxes on other non-air-conditioned buses. NWFB also painted two of the Jumbo Buses on this route with full-body advertisements for the route, SF8 in orange and SF31 in purple, both of which were retained until they were retired. In view of the height restriction underneath Jardine's Bridge, NWFB purchased 40 Dennis Trident low-floor air-conditioned buses (Nos. 3301L-3340L, with the "L" for low-height buses later deleted) with a length of 10.3 metres and height of 4.17 metres to serve the route in 1999, with the special feature that the wheelchair access point was located at the centre door, which was different from the usual low-floor buses that were located at the front door. The commissioning of this batch of buses enabled NWFB to fully retire the SFs which had been in service for over 20 years, and the company subsequently procured 20 additional buses of the same model (3341-3360 with Euro III engines) in 2002. As a result of the Low Emission Zone (LEZ) policy for franchised buses, Dennis Trident 10.3-metre double-decker buses (33XX) were retrofitted with Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) and brought up to the Euro IV emission standard for entry into the LEZ. In 2016, as the shorter-bodied version of the Dennis Tridents (33XX) aged, NWFB ordered 60 Enviro400 Euro V (38XX) with a length of 10.4 metres and a height of only 4.17 metres, of which Nos. 3801, 3802 and 3824 served the route for the first time on 5 May 2017 after the trial run and gradually became the main vehicles of this route. In April 2019, the remaining two Dennis Tridents 10.3m buses (3355, 3356) had to be withdrawn from the route due to NWFB and Citybus's internal requirement to upgrade the emission requirement of the Low Emission Zone for franchised buses from Euro IV to Euro V. |
Routing[]
The distance of this route is approx. 13.5km, and the journey time is approximately 45mins. (The average speed is 18km/h.)
To The Peak[]
| Routing | Roads observed |
| ① Regular |
Man Kwong Street, Man Yiu Street, Harbour View Street, Exchange Square Bus Terminus, Connaught Road Central, Harcourt Road, slip road of Cotton Tree Drive, Queensway, Queen's Road East, Stubbs Road and Peak Road |
|---|---|
| ② * Daily AM departing from Exchange Square |
Connaught Road Central, Harcourt Road, slip road of Cotton Tree Drive, ... |
| ③ # Weekday before PM peak hours via Mansfield Road |
..., Stubbs Road, Peak Road, Guildford Road , Mansfield Road, Guildford Road and Peak Road |
| ④ % Saturdays and holidays detour via Central Pier 8 |
Man Kwong Street, Man Yiu Street, Harbour View Street, ... |
| Citybus Route 15 (Central → The Peak) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Area | Road | Bus stop name | Remarks |
| 1 | Central Ferry Piers | Man Kwong Street | Central Ferry - Cheung Chau & Lamma Island Ferry | Not applicable to daily AM departures using Routing ② |
| 2 | Central Ferry - Star Ferry | |||
| % | Central Ferry Piers | Man Kwong Street | Central (Star Ferry) | Outside Pier 8 Applicable to departures using Routing ④ |
| 3 * | Central | Central (Exchange Square)  |
Starting point for daily AM departures using Routing ② Departures of other periods also stop here | |
| 4 | Central | Connaught Road Central | City Hall | |
| 5 | Admiralty | Queensway | Admiralty - Admiralty Garden |
Near Pacific Place, Hong Kong Park |
| 6 | Wan Chai | Queen's Road East | Three Pacific Place | |
| 7 | Lun Fat Street | Near Wan Chai Hung Shing Temple | ||
| 8 | Amoy Street | Near Lee Tung Avenue | ||
| 9 | The Zenith | Near Blue House, Tai Yuen Street | ||
| 10 | St. Joseph's Primary School | Near Tang Shiu Kin Hospital | ||
| 11 | Wan Chai Mid-levels | Stubbs Road | Shiu Fai Terrace | |
| 12 | Stubbs Road Sitting-out Area | |||
| 13 | Tung Shan Terrace | |||
| 14 | Hong Kong Adventist Hospital | |||
| 15 | Evergreen Villa | |||
| 16 | Bradbury School | Near King Yin Lei | ||
| 17 | Mount Nicholson Road | |||
| 18 | White Jade | Near Stubbs Road Lookout | ||
| 19 | The Opus Hong Kong | |||
| 20 | Wan Chai Gap | Peak Road | Wan Chai Gap Road | Near Police Museum Section Fare begins here Two-way section fare ends here |
| 21 | Tai Koo House | |||
| # | The Peak | Guildford Road | Guildford Court | Applicable to departures using Routing ③ |
| # | Mansfield Road | Rosmead Road | ||
| # | 6 Mansfield Road | |||
| # | 2 Mansfield Road | |||
| 22 | The Peak | Peak Road | Guildford Road | |
| 23 | Craigmin Road | |||
| 24 | The Peak Police Station | |||
| 25 | Mount Kellett Road | |||
| 26 | The Peak | Near Lion's Pavillion, Lugard Road, The Peak Galleria | ||
To Central[]
| Routing | Roads observed |
| ① Regular |
Peak Road, Stubbs Road, Queen's Road East, Queensway, Queen's Road Central, Pedder Street, Connaught Place, Man Yiu Street and Man Kwong Street |
|---|---|
| ② * Daily AM terminating at Exchange Square |
..., Pedder Street, Connaught Place and Harbour View Street |
| ③ # Weekday before PM peak hours via Mansfield Road |
Peak Road, Guildford Road , Mansfield Road, Guildford Road, Peak Road and Stubbs Road |
| Citybus Route 15 (The Peak → Central) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Area | Road | Bus stop name | Remarks |
| 1 | The Peak | The Peak | ||
| 2 | Peak Road | Mount Kellett Road | ||
| 3 | The Peak Police Station | |||
| 4 | Craigmin Road | |||
| 5 | Guildford Road | |||
| # | The Peak | Guildford Road | Guildford Court | Applicable to departures using Routing ③ |
| # | Mansfield Road | Rosmead Road | ||
| # | 6 Mansfield Road | |||
| # | 2 Mansfield Road | |||
| 6 | Magazine Gap | Peak Road | Magazine Gap Road | |
| 7 | 30 Peak Road | |||
| 8 | Wan Chai Gap | Stubbs Road | Wan Chai Gap Road | Near Police Museum Section Fare begins here Two-way section fare ends here |
| 9 | White Jade | |||
| 10 | Wan Chai Mid-levels | Mount Nicholson Road | Near Stubbs Road Lookout | |
| 11 | Evergreen Villa | |||
| 12 | Villa Monte Rosa | |||
| 13 | Bowen Road | Section Fare begins here | ||
| 14 | Craigmount | |||
| 15 | Tung Shan Terrace | |||
| 16 | Stubbs Road Garden | |||
| 17 | Shiu Fai Terrace | |||
| 18 | Wan Chai | Queen's Road East | Wah Yan College Hong Kong | Section Fare begins here near Rutonjee Hospital |
| 19 | Wu Chung House | Near Hopewell Centre, Blue House, Tai Yuen Street, Lee Tung Avenue | ||
| 20 | Lun Fat Street | Near Wan Chai Hung Shing Temple | ||
| 21 | Three Pacific Place | |||
| 22 | Admiralty | Queensway | Admiralty - Pacific Place |
Near Hong Kong Park |
| 23 | Central | Bank of China Tower | ||
| 24 | Pedder Street | Pedder Street |
Near The Landmark | |
| * | Central | Central (Exchange Square) |
Terminus for daily AM departures using Routing ② Other periods omit this stop | |
| 25 | Central | Man Yiu Street | Two International Finance Centre |
Not applicable to daily AM departures using Routing ② |
| 26 | Central Ferry Piers | Man Kwong Street | Central Ferry - Cheung Chau & Lamma Island Ferry | |
Ridership[]
The beauty of the Victoria Peak is renowned in China and abroad, attracting many travellers to take this route. Despite competition from the more direct and cheaper Hong Kong Island GMB Route 1 (via Magazine Gap Road, which is restricted to vehicles of less than three tonnes) and the Peak Tram, the minibus can only cover Central and has a limited capacity, while the Peak Tram charges high fares and travellers need to switch to this route in the event of overcrowding, breakdowns and maintenance, thus boosting the number of passengers.
According to relevant information, the ridership of this route is as follows:
- February 1993 (CMB): The monthly number of passengers is 132,697.
Related incidents[]
Trivia[]
Some Enviro400 Euro Vs are draped with "Peak Explorer" promotional advertisements
On 6 January 2022, NWFB packaged Route 15 as the "Peak Explorer" (山頂探索號) with specially designed themed buses, station boards and a branded website to promote the route's connection with attractions such as the Star Ferry, Hong Kong Park, Hung Shing Temple in Wan Chai, the Blue House, Tai Yuen Street, and the Stubbs Road observation deck, etc. NWFB has also collaborated with travel platform KKday to introduce the entertainment experience along the route, with an aim to help passengers explore the city's special attractions and ultimately bring them to the iconic Peak, overlooking the skyline of Hong Kong.[6][7]
Gallery[]
Remarks[]
- ↑ Displayed as "Central (Ferry Piers)" (中環碼頭) on the Motion Bus Stop Display List.
- ↑ The Repulse Bay Hotel hosts several parties and carnivals each year, and bus routes to the Peak Hotel are extended late into the night. After the typhoon, vehicles travelling to the Peak from the Southern District had to pass through Peel Rise, which was unsuitable for buses. Since then and until the war, there has been no information on buses travelling to the Peak.
Related articles[]
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References[]
- ↑ "Temporary Suspension of the Peak Trams", Hong Kong Daily Press, 5 February 1923.
- ↑ "HongKong Hotel Buses - Three New Routes", The Hong Kong Telegraph, 20 May 1925.
- ↑ Citybus Limited, "Route 15, 25 Trial Route Diversion via Star Ferry (HK Observation Wheel)" [Passenger Notice], 10 August 2023.
- ↑ Citybus Limited, "Route 15, 25 Route Diversion via Star Ferry (HK Observation Wheel)" [Passenger Notice], 10 January 2025.
- ↑ Citybus Limited, "Route 15 Advance the First Departure from The Peak on Public Holidays" [Passenger Notice], 22 September 2023.
- ↑ New World First Bus Services Limited, "NWFB Route 15 Rebranded As The Peak Explorer" [News Release], 6 January 2022.
- ↑ Peak Explorer Website
External links[]
- Citybus Official Route Information: 15 (to The Peak)
- Citybus Official Route Information: 15 (to Central)
- Peak Explorer Website
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| Italic - service during specified days/periods only; → - Outbound service only; ← - Inbound service only; (@) - Outbound trips terminate at Central and Western District, return trips start at Wan Chai District; (&) - Return trips start at Central and Western District, outbound trips terminate at Wan Chai District; ($) - Running one-way to Central and Western District during weekday AM peak hours, and running to-way to and from Wan Chai District during other times | |||||||||||||||||||
NWFB Route 15 and CMB Route 15