The Hong Kong Island Urban Bus Route 88X is operated by Citybus. It runs between Siu Sai Wan (Island Resort) and Kennedy Town (Belcher Bay) [Remark 1], via Chai Wan (Lok Hin Terrace), Island Eastern Corridor, Central - Wan Chai Bypass, Central (→)/Sheung Wan (←) and Shek Tong Tsui.
Route 88X, which is dubbed as "Hong Kong Island East-West Express" (東西快線), runs directly between Siu Sai Wan, Chai Wan and Central and Western District and only provides outbound service to Kennedy Town and inbound service to Siu Sai Wan during morning and evening peak hours respectively on Mondays to Fridays.
History[]
Commencing background[]
The phased commissioning of MTR West Island Line from late 2014 to early 2015 dealt a heavy blow to the patronage of Route 18X. In view of the collapse of the patronage of the route by more than half, NWFB and the Transport Department proposed in the 2016-2017 Bus Route Plan to substantially extend Route 18X to Siu Sai Wan, which would run along the Island Eastern Corridor directly to Taikoo Shing and Shau Kei Wan Terminus, abandoning the route along North Point, Quarry Bay, and Sai Wan Ho, and then continue to run along the Island Eastern Corridor to Sai Wan Ho, and then continue to run along the Eastern Corridor to Yue Wan Estate in Chai Wan, thereby extending the service area to Siu Sai Wan which cannot be reached by the railway. [1] In the face of opposition from various parties, NWFB withdrew the proposal in May 2016, and subsequently condensed the extension plan into a special one-way service from Siu Sai Wan to Central and Western District every Monday to Friday morning, with one departure at 8:00 a.m. only, with the route running to Yue Wan Estate and then along Route 4 directly to Central, and then on to Sai Ying Pun and Kennedy Town[2], the special departure was eventually numbered as 88X individually.
Route change history[]
- 22 August 2016: Route 88X entered service for a trial period of three months. [3][4]
- 21 November 2016: The trial period ended and the service was converted to regular service. [5]
- 30 April 2018: "Next Bus" Arrival Enquiry Service was introduced on this route. [6]
- 21 January 2019: To tie in with the opening of Central - Wan Chai Bypass on the day before (20 January), the route was rerouted after reaching Island Eastern Corridor via Central - Wan Chai Bypass, Lung King Street, Fenwick Pier Street and viaduct back to Harcourt Road and the original routing, and no longer passed through Victoria Park Road and Gloucester Road. [7][8]
- 30 December 2019: A new return journey from Kennedy Town (Belcher's Bay) to Siu Sai Wan (Island Resort) was introduced, departing at 17:45 every Mondays to Fridays. After leaving Shek Tong Tsui, the route would only stop at Sun Yat Sen Memorial Park, Macau Ferry and Des Voeux Road Central, then passing through the Central and Wan Chai Bypass and the Island Eastern Corridor directly to Chai Wan. [9][10]
- 2 November 2020: New departures at 07:45 from Siu Sai Wan (Island Resort) and 18:05 from Kennedy Town (Belcher Bay) were added. [11][12]
- 1 July 2023: Changed to be operated by Citybus following the Citybus and NWFB Franchised Bus Network Merger.
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 12/2019, please refer to the link below for the official route information.
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- This route provides "Next Bus" Arrival Time Enquiry Service.
Fares[]
| Journey/Boarding stop | Air-conditioned fare |
|---|---|
| Full fare | $12.2 |
| Section fares (to Kennedy Town) | |
| Pottinger Street | $6.3 |
| From Connaught Garden | $5.2 |
| Section fares (to Siu Sai Wan) | |
| From Chong Gene Hang College | $4.9 |
| Fare Remarks |
|---|
|
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 88X Interchange Concession Scheme
Bus deployments[]
This route is operated by 2 double-decker buses in the morning and 2 double-decker buses in the afternoon, with Enviro500/MMC 12m (5518-5582/5583-5599, 5601-5851, 515XX) as the main vehicle.
Routing[]
To Kennedy Town (Belcher Bay)[]
To Kennedy Town: The distance of this route is approx. 18.3km, and the journey time is approximately 45mins. (The average speed is 24.4km/h.)
Via: Siu Sai Wan Road, Siu Sai Wan Estate Bus Terminus, Siu Sai Wan Road, Chai Wan Road, roundabout, Island Eastern Corridor, Central - Wan Chai Bypass, Convention Avenue, Fenwick Pier Street, flyover, Harcourt Road, Connaught Road Central, Rumsey Street Flyover, Connaught Road West, Ka On Street, Des Voeux Road West, Praya, Kennedy Town, Sands Street, Belcher's Street, Cadogan Street, Praya, Kennedy Town, and Shing Sai Road
| Citybus Route 88X (Siu Sai Wan (Island Resort) → Kennedy Town (Belcher Bay)) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Area | Road | Bus stop name | Remarks |
| 1 | Siu Sai Wan | Siu Sai Wan (Island Resort) | ||
| 2 | Siu Sai Wan Road | Fullview Garden | ||
| 3 | Siu Sai Wan Estate | |||
| 4 | Siu Sai Wan Road | Hiu Tsui Street | ||
| 5 | Chai Wan | Chai Wan Road | Fu Shing Court | |
| 6 | Lok Hin Terrace | |||
| 7 | Wan Tsui Shopping Centre | |||
| 8 | Island Eastern Corridor | Chong Gene Hang College | ||
 Central - Wan Chai Bypass; Harcourt Road Flyover
| ||||
| 9 | Central | Connauguht Road Central | Pottinger Street  |
Section fare begins here |
| Rumsey Street Flyover
| ||||
| 10 | Sai Ying Pun | Connaught Road West | Connaught Garden | Section fare begins here |
| 11 | Shek Tong Tsui | Des Voeux Road West | Hill Road | |
| 12 | Kennedy Town | Praya, Kennedy Town | Kennedy Town Swimming Pool | near The Belcher's |
| 13 | Sands Street | |||
| 14 | Belcher's Street | Luen Bong Apartments |
||
| 15 | Cadogan Street | Cadogan Street | ||
| 16 | Belcher Bay | |||
To Siu Sai Wan (Island Resort)[]
To Siu Sai Wan: The distance of this route is approx. 19.2km, and the journey time is approximately 51mins. (The average speed is 22.6km/h.)
Via: Shing Sai Road, Sai Cheung Street North, Sai Cheung Street, Belcher's Street, Cadogan Street, Catchick Street, Praya, Kennedy Town, Des Voeux Road West, Water Street, Connaught Road West, Macau Ferry access, Connaught Road Central, Rumsey Street, Des Voeux Road Central, Wing Wo Street, Connaught Road Central, Man Kat Street, Man Chiu Street, Central - Wan Chai Bypass, Island Eastern Corridor, Chai Wan Road and Siu Sai Wan Road
| Citybus Route 88X (Kennedy Town (Belcher Bay) → Siu Sai Wan (Island Resort)) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Area | Road | Bus stop name | Remarks |
| 1 | Kennedy Town | Belcher Bay | ||
| 2 | Belcher's Street | Luen Bong Apartments |
||
| 3 | Catchick Street | Davis Street | ||
| 4 | Praya, Kennedy Town | Sai Cheung Street | ||
| 5 | Collinson Street | |||
| 6 | Shek Tong Tsui | Des Voeux Road West | Kennedy Town Swimming Pool Sitting-out Area | |
| 7 | Hill Road | |||
| 8 | Ka On Street | |||
| 9 | Sai Ying Pun | Connaught Road West | Sun Yat-sen Memorial Park | |
| 10 | Sheung Wan | Central (Macau Ferry) |
||
| 11 | Des Voeux Road Central | Rumsey Street |
||
| Central - Wan Chai Bypass
| ||||
| 12 | Chai Wan | Island Eastern Corridor | Chong Gene Hang College | Section fare begins here near Chai Wan Park |
| 13 | Chai Wan Road | Walton Estate | ||
| 14 | Yue Wan Estate | |||
| 15 | Sheung On Street | |||
| 16 | Siu Sai Wan | Siu Sai Wan Road | Harmony Garden | near Siu Sai Wan Estate |
| 17 | Fu Yee Road | |||
| 18 | Fullview Garden | |||
| 19 | Siu Sai Wan (Island Resort) | |||
Ridership[]
According to the Bus Route Planning Programme and other documents, the occupancy of this route is as follows:
- 2017: The occupancy rate was about 60%. [13]
- 2018: The occupancy rate was 58% during the busiest hour.
Related incidents[]
- 22 August 2016: Before this route was put into service, a section from Chong Gene Hang College to Pottinger Street was labelled on the route sheet as "about 7 minutes direct". However, after the debut, netizens found that the actual journey time far exceeded the stated time, and queried whether NWFB had violated the Trade Descriptions Ordinance. The incident was reported by the media on the same day,[14] and NWFB subsequently revised the route sheet to "about 17 minutes direct".
- 21 January 2019: On the first day of this route rerouting via the Central - Wan Chai Bypass, the media filmed the operation of the buses after the opening of the Bypass, it was found that the bus captain was travelling on the wrong route, and was travelling on the wrong route to the Central District lane of the Bypass (the correct route was to the Wan Chai North Exit). Fortunately, this route does not have any stops in Wan Chai, so passengers were not affected. [15][16][17]
- 18 November 2020: At around 6:00pm, a black private car parked at the double yellow line area opposite to Nan Fung Mansion on Wing Wo Street, Sheung Wan, causing an Enviro500 (5541/PW126) travelling on this route towards Siu Sai Wan to be unable to turn into Wing Wo Street smoothly, resulting in an obstruction of all lanes of Des Voeux Road Central for nearly 20 minutes. Some netizens, who were not happy with the behaviour of the private car owner, uploaded the relevant photos and videos onto the Internet, and the incident was reported by the media two days later.[18]
Gallery[]
.JPG "5845 NWFB 88X 15-02-2022(1).JPG (1.82 MB)")
.JPG "5845 NWFB 88X 15-02-2022(2).JPG (1.83 MB)")
Remarks[]
- ↑ Displayed as "Kennedy Town (Belcher Bay)" (堅尼地城卑路乍灣) on the Motion Bus Stop Display List.
Related articles[]
- Citybus Route 18X
- Citybus Route 780
- Citybus Route 788
References[]
- ↑ Transport Department of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, "2016-2017年度中西區巴士路線計劃" (2016-2017 Central and Western District Bus Route Planning Programme), February 2016
- ↑ "巴士服務新建議方案：小西灣（藍灣半島）往堅尼地城（卑路乍灣）" (New Proposed Scheme for Bus Services: Siu Sai Wan (Island Resort) to Kennedy Town (Belcher Bay))", Eastern District Council Traffic and Transport Panel Paper No. 15/16.
- ↑ Transport Department HKSARG, "Trial of NWFB Route No. 88X Siu Sai Wan (Island Resort) to Kennedy Town (Belcher Bay) Temporary Bus Terminus" [Traffic Advice], 11 August 2016.
- ↑ New World First Bus Services Limited, "NWFB Introduces Trial of Route 88X" [News Release], 18 August 2016.
- ↑ Transport Department HKSARG, "[https://www.td.gov.hk/en/traffic_notices/index_id_47524.html Conversion into Permanent Service NWFB Route No. 88X Siu Sai Wan (Island Resort) to Kennedy Town (Belcher Bay) Temporary Bus Terminus]" [Traffic Advice], 15 November 2016.
- ↑ Citybus Limited & New World First Bus Services Limited, "NWFB Citybus extends real-time arrival time service to 182 routes" [News Release], 30 April 2018.
- ↑ Citybus Limited & New World First Bus Services Limited, "NWFB launches Route 720X to tie in with the commissioning of Central-Wan Chai Bypass Multiple routes of NWFB and Citybus to be diverted" [News Release], 16 January 2019.
- ↑ Transport Department HKSARG, "/content_13/THHP/tdn%20for%20cwb%20opening%2020190120%20en.pdf Traffic and Public Transport Arrangements for Stage 1 Commissioning of Central - Wan Chai Bypass and Island Eastern Corridor Link" [Announcement].
- ↑ Transport Department HKSARG, "Introduction of Evening Service of NWFB Route No. 88X Kennedy Town (Belcher Bay) to Siu Sai Wan (Island Resort)" [Traffic Advice], 24 December 2019.
- ↑ New World First Bus Services Limited, "NWFB Route 88X Introduces Evening Peak Service to Siu Sai Wan" [News Release], 24 December 2019.
- ↑ Transport Department HKSARG, "Service Enhancement of NWFB Route No. 88X (Siu Sai Wan (Island Resort) – Kennedy Town (Belcher Bay))" [Traffic Advice], 16 October 2020.
- ↑ New World First Bus Services Limited, "NWFB Route 88X Service Strengthened" [News Release], 21 October 2020.
- ↑ "部門回應：要求88X在高威閣、康翠臺和柴灣斜一帶加設車站" (Department response: Request for addition of bus stops for Route 88X at Koway Court, Greenwood Terrace and Chai Wan Hilly), Paper No. 8/17, April 2017, Working Group on Public Transport and Road Safety, Traffic and Transport Committee, Eastern District Council.
- ↑ 【網上熱話】新巴新線標示柴灣至中環「約7分鐘直達」 網民試搭要逾20分鐘 質疑違商品說明條例 ([Hot topic] NWFB branded "about 7mins" direct from Chai Wan to Central for the new route - but actually 20mins required: Netizens suspected on violation of Trade Descriptions Ordinance), Ming Pao, 23 Aug 2016.
- ↑ "實測司機熟唔熟「繞道」 連巴士都行錯路？" (Real test on how familiar with bus captain unfamiliar with the bypass - even buses go onto the wrong road?), "有線新聞 i-Cable News" Facebook page.
- ↑ 巴士改行繞道 有乘客認為應減少車站數目 (Bus routes rerouted via the new bypass, passengers thought stops should be reduced), now News, 21 Jan 2019.
- ↑ "【中環繞道】運輸署指交通情況「過關」 市民鬧塞過以前寧坐港鐵" ([Central - Wan Chai Bypass] TD says OK for traffic situation; public slammed more congested than before and rather take MTR instead), Apple Daily, 21 January 2019.
- ↑ 兩夫婦違泊如廁 巴士無法轉彎塞足20分鐘 網民：搞到中環大塞車 (Couple parked illegally for toilet causing bus to be stuck for 20mins; netizens: culprit of mass congestion at Central), HK01, 20 Nov 2020.
External links[]
- Citybus Official Route Information: 88X (to Kennedy Town (Belcher Bay))
- Citybus Official Route Information: 88X (to Siu Sai Wan (Island Resort))
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