The Hong Kong Island Tourist Service Bus Route H3 is the HK City Sightseeing "Coastliner" (海岸之旅) operated by Citybus. It runs one-way from Central (Hong Kong Observation Wheel)/Central Ferry - Star Ferry to Stanley Village/Stanley Market; after serving MTR Admiralty Station and Wan Chai (Golden Bauhinia Square), it takes the Aberdeen Tunnel to Ocean Park, Deep Water Bay and Repulse Bay.
History[]
In the second half of 2024, four giant pandas were added to the Ocean Park, and the Hong Kong government thus expanded the "panda economy" to promote tourism and generate economic benefits.[1] In December of the same year, Citybus arranged for an Enviro500 MMC 11.3m (4041/SK6779), which was originally a NWFB bus, to undergo open-topping work at the Chong Fu Road Depot[2], followed by two other buses of the same model (4040/SL2101 and 4042/SK7383) in the following month. Like the recently modified buses, these vehicles also adopt the semi-open-top design, but with a full-glass roof and a display screen at the wheelchair parking space for live broadcast of the scenery outside the bus. It was expected that they would be added to the HK City Sightseeing fleet and planned to serve the new Sightseeing Bus routes in the Southern District.[3] This batch of buses is the second batch of 11-metre buses to be used as open-top buses, following the initial operation of the Rickshaw Sightseeing Buses, but the difference was that the Volvo Olympian (VA51-VA55) was a full open-top design.
On 21 February 2025, Citybus held the unveiling ceremony of "Panda Surfer" at the Ocean Park Depot, announcing that two new routes, "Coastliner" routes H3 and H4, were scheduled to depart on 17 March to coincide with the "Hong Kong Super March", as well as the unveiling of the newly repainted buses 49901/SK6779 and 49902/SK7383, with the former being the theme bus of a collaboration with Ocean Park. The former is a "Panda Surfer" themed bus in collaboration with Ocean Park, with new Arabic display on the electronic destination signs and a number of giant pandas painted on the bus body for passengers to "meet and greet".[4] The final launch date of the two routes was delayed by two weeks from the original schedule. On the eve of the launch, Citybus arranged trial rides for reporters, and Ming Pao reported that Route H3 passing through the Aberdeen Tunnel could feel the hot air inside the tube, while the cool air blowing out of the tunnel also made them feel clearer.[5]
Service hours and headways[]
The latest update is on 3/2025, please refer to the link below for the official route information.
| From Central (Hong Kong Observation Wheel)/Central Ferry - Star Ferry | |
|---|---|
| Hrs | Mins |
| Daily | |
| 10 - 17 | 00 |
- This route provides "Next Bus" Arrival Time Enquiry Service.
Fares[]
Single journey fare[]
| Journey/Boarding stop | Fares |
|---|---|
| Full fare | $49.7 |
| Fare Remarks |
|---|
|
Day Pass[]
Price: HK$250
- Half-fare concession for child aged under 12 or below or elderly aged 65 or above.
- Unlimited travel on Routes H1, H1S, H2, H2K, H3 and H4 within 24 hours from the date of first boarding with the ticket.
- Priority boarding on Routes H1, H1S, H2K and H3 at Central terminus.
- Sale of Day Passes online are suspended from 17 March 2025 onwards.
Citybus+ "Dayrider" Sightseeing Pass
Price: HK$198
- Passengers can enjoy unlimited rides on all Citybus franchised bus routes (including Citybus trips on jointly operated routes) for 24 hours a day with their tickets.
- Priority boarding on Routes H1, H1S, H2K and H3 at Central terminus.
| Method of purchase and usage |
|---|
|
Choose one from the following methods:
|
Bus deployments[]
The route is served by three modified Enviro500 MMC 11.3m (49900-49902) double-decker semi-open top buses. When semi-open-top buses are not available, double-decker air-conditioned buses may be used instead.
Due to the narrow road surface of Repulse Bay Road and Island Road, this route can only be served by the aforementioned vehicles.
However, the number of semi-topped buses is limited. Therefore, when some of these vehicles are not available, the modified Enviro500 12m (59900-59902) double-decker semi-open-top buses and Enviro500 MMC 12m (59903-59911) double-decker semi-open-top buses will be used to serve the Central (Hong Kong Observation Wheel)/Central Ferry - Star Ferry to Ocean Park and continue the journey by exchanging vehicles at Ocean Park, or change to double-deck air-conditioned bus service for the whole journey.
| List of buses on Routes H3 and H4 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fleet no. | Plate no. | Depot | Remarks |
| 40900 | SA6717 | West Kowloon Depot (N) | Citybus non-franchised full open-top bus, with air-conditioned compartment on the lower deck, fixed spare bus and additional bus |
| 49900 | SL2101 | Chong Fu Road Depot | Semi-open-top bus, with air-conditioned compartment on the lower deck |
| 49901 | SK6779 | ||
| 49902 | SK7383 | ||
| 49903 | SK7106 | ||
| 49904 | SK7907 | ||
Routing[]
Via: Man Kwong Street, Man Yiu Street, Yiu Sing Street, Lung Wo Road, Edinburgh Place, Harcourt Road, slip road of Cotton Tree Drive, Queensway, Tamar Street, Admiralty (West) Bus Terminus, slip road of Cotton Tree Drive, Queensway, Arsenal Street, flyover, Gloucester Road, Fleming Road, Expo Drive East, Wan Chai (HKCEC Extension) Bus Terminus, Expo Drive East, Lung Wo Road, Lung Tat Path, Convention Avenue, Fenwick Street, Gloucester Road, Canal Road Flyover, Wong Nai Chung Gap Flyover, Aberdeen Tunnel, Wong Chuk Hang Road, Ocean Park Road, Ocean Park Road Bus Terminus, Ocean Park Road, Wong Chuk Hang Road, Island Road, Repulse Bay Road, Stanley Gap Road, Chung Hom Kok Road, Cape Road, Carmel Road, Ma Hang Estate Public Transport Interchnge, Carmel Road and Stanley Village Road
| Citybus Route H3 (Central (Hong Kong Observation Wheel)/Central Ferry - Star Ferry → Stanley Village/Stanley Market) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Area | Road | Bus stop name | Remarks |
| 1 | Central Ferry Piers | Central (Hong Kong Observation Wheel) | ||
| 2 | Admiralty | Admiralty - MTR Exit B  |
||
| 3 | Wan Chai North | Expo Drive East | Golden Bauhinia Square | |
 Canal Road Flyover, Wong Nai Chung Gap Flyover, Aberdeen Tunnel
| ||||
| 4 | Wong Chuk Hang | Ocean Park |
||
| 5 | Deep Water Bay | Island Road | Deep Water Bay | |
| 6 | Repulse Bay | Repulse Bay Road | Repulse Bay Beach | |
| 7 | Stanley (Ma Hang) | Stanley Plaza | ||
| 8 | Stanley | Stanley Village | ||
Gallery[]
Remarks[]
Related articles[]
- Citybus Route 6A
- Citybus Route 6X
- Citybus Route 260
- Citybus Route 629
- Citybus Route H4
- Big Bus Stanley Tour
References[]
- ↑ Government of the HKSAR, "立法會：文化體育及旅遊局局長就「拓展香港紅色旅遊及熊貓經濟」動議辯論總結發言" (Chinese only) [News Release], 19 December 2024.
- ↑ [車型及機械] 城巴改裝 11.3 米 E500 開篷巴士 (Citybus revamps an Enviro500 11.3m into open-top bus), hkitalk.net.
- ↑ [文章推介] 11.3米Enviro500 4041及4042開頂中 (4041 and 4042 undergoing open-topping works), hkitalk.net。
- ↑ Citybus Limited, "HK City Sightseeing Expands it’s Network to the Southern District with “Coastliner” Panda Surfer to Rejuvenate the Economy and Offer Unprecedented Coastline Experience" [News Release], 21 February 2025.
- ↑ "開篷巴士海岸新路線 港島鬧市激玩「過山車」", Ming Pao, 29 March 2025.
- ↑ Transport Department HKSARG, "Introduction of CTB Route No. H3 and Special Departures Route No. H4" [Traffic Advice], 28 March 2025.
- ↑ Citybus Limited, "HK City Sightseeing New Coastliner Routes Launching from the 31 March Connecting our Coastal Gems and Eco-Tourism Hotspots" [News Release], 28 March 2025.
External links[]
| Bus routes terminating or turning back in Central and Western District (shown below are destination districts) | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hong Kong Island |
| ||||||||||||||||||
| Kowloon |
| ||||||||||||||||||
| New Territories East |
| ||||||||||||||||||
| New Territories West |
| ||||||||||||||||||
| 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; (#) Terminates at Central and Western District for outbound service, while inbound services start from Eastern District | |||||||||||||||||||
| Bus routes terminating or turning back in Southern District (shown below are destination districts) | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hong Kong Island |
| ||||||||||||||||||
| Kowloon |
| ||||||||||||||||||
| New Territories East |
| ||||||||||||||||||
| New Territories West |
| ||||||||||||||||||
Italic - service during specified days/periods only; → - Outbound service only; ← - Inbound service only | |||||||||||||||||||
Template:Aberdeen Tunnel Bus Routes
| List of regular open-top bus routes | |
|---|---|
| Franchised buses | <Within HK Island> H3 (Coastliner) • H4 (Coastliner) <Cross-harbour to/from Kowloon> H1 (Heritage Route) • H1S (Art Discovery HK) • H2 (Cultural Route) • H2K (Night Scene HK) <Within Kowloon> HK1 (KMB Tour HK) |
| Non-franchised buses | <Within HK Island> Hong Kong Island Tour (Red Route) • Stanley Tour (Green Route) <Within Kowloon> Kowloon Tour (Blue Route) <Within Lantau Island> NP1 • NP2 |