The New Territories Bus Route 581 is one of the "Ma On Shan - Sai Sha Network" routes operated by Citybus. It runs between Ma On Shan Town Centre and GO PARK Sai Sha, via Wu Kai Sha and Lok Wo Sha.
To tie in with the housing development in the area of Shap Sze Heung, the Transport Department (TD) has proposed in the 2023-2024 Bus Route Planning Programme to introduce five new bus routes, one of which would run to and from Ma On Shan Town Centre, passing through Wu Kai Sha Station, to make it convenient for residents to go to Wu Kai Sha Station and Ma On Shan town centre for interchange with the MTR or other bus routes to go to different districts. [1] While District Council members were concerned about the frequency level of this route, local organisations were worried about overlapping with routes such as KMB Route 99 and New Territories GMB Route 807K.[2][3]
In September 2023, the Transport Department indicated that Citybus won the bid for all five new routes [4], with this route being numbered "581".
As this route approached its launch date, Sha Tin District Council members have raised concerns regarding transport arrangements along Yiu Sha Road, noting the forthcoming completion of City University of Hong Kong Student Residence at Lok Wo Sha. Citybus has indicated its consideration of incorporating stops in this area into its newly established bus route serving Shap Sze Heung.[5]
22 December 2024: Detoured via Lok Wo Sha for both directions, with additional stops at "St. Barths" on Yiu Sha Road and "Double Cove (Phase 4)" on Wu Kai Sha Road.[8][9]
The last bus times from Ma On Shan Town Centre and Sai Sha Residences were delayed to 22:10 and 22:20.
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 12/2025, please refer to the link below for the official route information.
Half-fare for children aged below 12 and senior citizens aged 65 or above; the remainder of the fare after half-fare will be counted as 10 cents.
Elderly persons aged 65 or above using Senior Octopus Cards or Personalised Octopus cards, Hong Kong residents aged 60 to 64 using JoyYou Card, and eligible persons with disabilities using Personalised Octopus cards with "Persons with Disabilities Status" can enjoy a flat fare of $2.0 per journey under the $2 Concessionary Fare. If the concessionary fare for eligible persons with disabilities aged below 12 and senior citizens aged 65 or above is less than $2.0 after a 50% discount from the regular fare, the beneficiary is only required to pay the original concessionary fare; if the original full fare for Hong Kong residents aged 60 to 64 or eligible persons with disabilities is already less than $2.0, the beneficiary is also only required to pay the original full fare.
Passengers are required to tender exact fare by cash or by Octopus card when boarding. No exact change will be given.
Passengers may also use AlipayHK "EasyGo", Alipay, QuickPass, BoC Pay "RideCode", WeChat Pay HK or WeChat "Ride Code", Visa, Mastercard and UnionPay cards with inductive payment capabilities, as well as Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay and Huawei Pay mobile payment platforms for fare payment. Passengers using the above payment method can only enjoy the interchange concessions with other Citybus solely-operated routes or the Citybus departures of the jointly-operated routes, and cannot enjoy the "Public Transport Fare Subsidy Scheme" nor the "Public Transport Fare Concession Scheme for the Elderly and Eligible Persons with Disabilities".
Passengers using Personalised Octopus cards with "Student Status" may enjoy 10% fare concession.[11]
The following concessions applicable to after 9am on Mondays to Fridays, as well as whole-day on Saturdays, Sundays and Public Holidays:
One senior citizen aged 65 or over or one child under 12 may travel free of charge for every two passengers paying the adult fare.
A passenger accompanying a disabled person may receive a half-fare concession in cash.
Passengers aged under 12 using a Personalised Octopus with ‘Persons with Disabilities Status’ can enjoy free rides on the first Sunday of every month.
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 581 Interchange Concession Scheme
Interchange concessions with MTR[]
Template:Citybus Route 581 and MTR Interchange Concessions
Routing[]
To Sai Sha and Shap Sze Heung[]
To Shap Sze Heung: The distance of this route is approx. 7.5km, and the journey time is approximately 23mins. (The average speed is 19.6km/h.)
Via: Sai Sha Road, On Yuen Street, On Chun Street, On Chiu Street, Sai Sha Road, Wu Kai Sha Road, Yiu Sha Road, roundabout, Yiu Sha Road, Wu Kai Sha Road, Sha On Street, Wu Kai Sha Station Public Transport Interchange, Sha On Street, Sai Sha Road, Hoi Ying Road and unnamed road
Citybus Route 581 (Ma On Shan Town Centre → GO PARK Sai Sha)
To Ma On Shan: The distance of this route is approx. 7.2km, and the journey time is approximately 23mins. (The average speed is 18.8km/h.)
Via: Hoi Ying Road, Sai Sha Road, Ma On Shan Bypass, Sai Sha Road, Wu Kai Sha Road, Yiu Sha Road, roundabout, Yiu Sha Road, Wu Kai Sha Road, Sha On Street, Wu Kai Sha Station Public Transport Interchange, Sha On Street and Sai Sha Road
Citybus Route 581 (GO PARK Sai Sha → Ma On Shan Town Centre)
Shap Sze Heung, Hoi Ha Wan and Wong Shek Pier areas of Sai Kung North are all located in Tai Po District, please refer to the District Council constituency boundary map. Italic - service during specified days/periods only; → - Outbound service only; ← - Inbound service only; (#) - outbound terminus at Wan Chai District, inbound starting point at Central and Western District; ($) - inbound service ends at Tai Po District
V · D · EBus routes terminating or turning back in Tai Po District (shown below are destination districts)
Shap Sze Heung, Hoi Ha Wan and Wong Shek Pier areas of Sai Kung North are all located in Tai Po District, please refer to the District Council constituency boundary map. Italic - service during specified days/periods only; → - Outbound service only; ← - Inbound service only; (#) - Return trips end at North District; ($) - Return trips end at Sha Tin District; (%) - Nai Chung special trips only; (&) - outbound terminus at Wan Chai District, inbound starting point at Central and Western District
