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The Cross-Harbour Bus Route 117 is jointly operated by Kowloon Motor Bus (KMB) and Citybus. It runs between Sham Shui Po (Yen Chow Street) and Happy Valley (Lower), via Mong Kok and Yau Ma Tei in Kowloon, and Causeway Bay (Times Square) on Hong Kong Island.

History[]

1st generation Route 117[]

  • 7 November 1994: Citybus and KMB introduced the new Cross-Harbour Route 117 between Sham Shui Po Ferry and Happy Valley (Lower), providing service from morning to evening on weekdays only.
  • 10 April 1995: Sham Shui Po terminus moved to the newly completed Sham Shui Po (Yen Chow Street) Bus Terminus.
  • 10 July 1995: Detour via Hennessy Road, Yee Wo Street, Paterson Street and Gloucester Road to Cross Harbour Tunnel when heading to Sham Shui Po.
  • 1 May 1997: Service was discontinued to tie in with the opening of the Western Harbour Crossing and replaced by Route 917.

2nd generation Route 117[]

  • 16 August 1999: In conjunction with the cancellation of Route 917, this route resumed operation and was diverted to the Cross Harbour Tunnel via Wan Chai Ferry Pier when heading to Sham Shui Po.
  • 7 September 2009: After reaching Morrison Hill Road towards Sham Shui Po, the route was redirected to the Cross Harbour Tunnel via Canal Road West and Canal Road Flyover, instead of Hennessy Road, Fleming Road and Convention Avenue.[1] This made the routing reverted back to the early days of commencement in 1994.
    • Stops at Morrison Hill Road "Lap Tak Lane", Hennessy Road "CNT Tower", "Hennessy Road Government Primary School" and Convention Avenue "Wan Chai Ferry Pier" were cancelled, and was replaced by the intermediate stop"Canal Road West".
  • 28 March 2016: Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA) enquiry system was introduced on KMB departures.[2]
  • 31 July 2016: After years of campaigning by the District Council,[3] a trial run of Sunday and public holiday service was introduced with two-way service from 11:00 - 18:30 every 30 minutes for three months until 30 October of the same year.[4][5][6]
    • The trial period was extended twice[7][8] and was eventually made permanent.[9]
  • 28 May 2018: "Next Bus" Arrival Enquiry Service was added to Citybus departures.[10]

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 1/2022, please refer to the link below for the official route information.

from Happy Valley (Lower)
Service Hours Headways (mins)
Mondays to Fridays
07:00 - 07:40 20
08:00 - 08:40 20
09:00 - 09:40 20
10:00 - 10:40 20
11:00 - 11:40 20
12:00 - 12:45 22/23
13:07 - 13:52 23/22
14:15 - 15:00 22/23
15:22 - 16:07 23/22
16:30 - 17:15 22/23
17:31 - 18:10 13
18:22
18:45 - 19:30 22/23
19:52 - 20:37 23/22
21:00 - 21:45 22/23
Saturdays
07:00 - 07:40 20
08:00 - 08:40 20
09:00 - 09:40 20
10:00 - 10:40 20
11:00 - 11:40 20
12:00 - 12:45 22/23
13:07 - 13:52 23/22
14:15 - 15:00 22/23
15:22 - 16:07 23/22
16:30 - 17:15 22/23
17:37 - 18:22 23/22
18:45 - 19:30 22/23
19:52 - 20:37 23/22
21:00 - 21:45 22/23
Sundays and Public Holidays
11:00 - 11:30 30
12:00 - 12:30 30
13:00 - 13:30 30
14:00 - 14:30 30
15:00 - 15:30 30
16:00 - 16:30 30
17:00 - 17:30 30
18:00 - 18:30 30
from Sham Shui Po (Yen Chow Street)
Service Hours Headways (mins)
Mondays to Saturdays
07:00 - 07:40 20
08:00 - 08:40 20
09:00 - 09:40 20
10:00 - 10:40 20
11:00 - 11:40 20
12:00 - 12:45 22/23
13:07 - 13:52 23/22
14:15 - 15:00 22/23
15:22 - 16:07 23/22
16:30 - 17:15 22/23
17:37 - 18:22 23/22
18:45 - 19:30 22/23
19:52 - 20:37 23/22
21:00 - 21:45 22/23
Sundays and Public Holidays
11:00 - 11:30 30
12:00 - 12:30 30
13:00 - 13:30 30
14:00 - 14:30 30
15:00 - 15:30 30
16:00 - 16:30 30
17:00 - 17:30 30
18:00 - 18:30 30
Detailed Departure Timetable

Cross-Harbour Bus Route 117/Detailed Departure Timetable

This route provides Estimated Time of Arrival System Enquiry Service/ "Next Bus" Arrival Time Enquiry Service, among which the red underlined trips in the above table are dispatched by KMB where passengers are able to use KMB Monthly Pass and KMB Tourist Day Pass; the rest of the trips are dispatched by Citybus where passengers are able to use "Citybus +" sightseeing tickets.

Fares[]

Journey/Boarding Stop Fares
Full Fare $11.5
Section Fare (to Sham Shui Po)
from Cross-Harbour Tunnel Toll Plaza $8.2
Section Fare (to Happy Valley)
from Cannon Street $8.2
Fare Remarks
  • 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" and UnionPay "QuickPass", BoC Pay "Ride Code" and WeChat Pay HK or WeChat "Ride Code", JCB Card, MasterCard, UnionPay, American Express, Discover Card, Diners Club International Credit Card, UnionPay Credit Card with inductive payment capabilities, as well as Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay mobile payment platforms for fare payment (JCB cards, American Express cards and Diners Club International cards only apply to KMB departures). Passengers using the above payment methods can only enjoy interchange concessions with other other routes/combined routes of the same company operating that particular departure, and they cannot enjoy the "Public Transport Fare Subsidy" nor the "Public Transport Fare Concession Scheme for the Elderly and Eligible Persons with Disabilities".

Bus Interchange Concession Schemes[]

Template:XHT Interchange Concession Scheme

Bus Deployments[]

KMB currently operates three Enviro500 MMC 12m (ATENU) double-decker buses on this route from Monday to Saturday and two buses on Sundays and public holidays. On weekdays, there are also order buses from Routes 171 and N241.

Citybus also operates at least 3 double-decker buses from Monday to Saturday (5 buses during the afternoon peak from Monday to Friday), mainly Enviro500/MMC 12m (8128-8490) and Enviro500 MMC 12.8m (6300-6497); 2 buses are operated on Sundays and public holidays.

With only 4 buses on holidays, this route is the least used whole-day cross-harbour route at present.

As this route passes through the Mong Kok Franchised Bus Low Emission Zone, all vehicles on this route must meet Euro 5 or above emission standards.

List of KMB scheduled buses on Route 117
F/N Plate No. Depot Remark
ATENU693 TR1614 Lai Chi Kok Depot (L) Runs on this route on a whole day basis
ATENU734 TR9454
ATENU762 TS8994

The above list of scheduled buses are as of April 2021, forwarded from hk2007.buscess website (Chinese only). The above buses might not be listed according to running orders.
The related content is for reference only and will be updated according to fleet changes (check update list). To check scheduled bus changes, refer to detailed information on hk2007.buscess website.
2421

List of KMB order buses on Route 117
Depot Order Route Running Order No. Remarks
Mondays to Fridays
Lai Chi Kok Depot (L) 6C S04 Sham Shui Po depart 11:20
Happy Valley depart 10:00, 12:22
171 09 Runs on this route during afternoon hours
S06 Sham Shui Po depart 11:40
Happy Valley depart 12:45
914 03 Sham Shui Po depart 13:30
Happy Valley depart 14:47
S03 Sham Shui Po depart 19:52
Happy Valley depart 21:00
N241 05 Sham Shui Po depart 20:37
Happy Valley depart 21:45
Saturdays
Lai Chi Kok Depot (L) 118 40 Happy Valley depart 11:40
905 S08 Runs on this route during afternoon hours
934 02 Sham Shui Po depart 09:20
Happy Valley depart 10:20
S02 Sham Shui Po depart 11:20
Happy Valley depart 12:45
N241 05 Sham Shui Po depart 20:37
Happy Valley depart 21:45

This section was last updated on 6/2021202106

Bus Deployment Evolution History[]

When this route was first introduced, KMB used mainly the Volvo Olympian 11m (AV), while Citybus used the Volvo Olympian 10.4m (239-248) or the Dennis Dragon 10.3m (7XX). In 1995, due to low patronage, Citybus switched to deploy the then newly introduced Dennis Darts (14XX) single-deckers, while KMB switched to deploy the Dennis Dragon9.9m (ADS) the following year.

In 1999, when Route 917 was renamed back to route 117, Citybus switched to use the MAN NL262 (15XX) single-decker buses; KMB's vehicles remained unchanged until 2002 when it introduced the low-floor service and replaced the Dennis Dragon with the Dennis Trident 10.6m (ATS). In 2008, it was replaced by the Volvo Super Olympian (a 10.6m ASV, and in 2014 by the 12m AVW, 3ASV). Citybus used the Volvo Olympian 11m (9XX/90XX) buses as its main vehicle.

On 8 February 2010, the first Citybus Enviro400 10.5m (7000/PC6795) two-axle double-decker bus made its debut on this route, making it the first route in Hong Kong to use this model. A second bus of the same model (7001/PH4891) also operated on this route in July 2013, before being transferred.

On 11 May 2013, in order to cope with the heavy passenger volume on this route during peak hours, KMB switched to use the Volvo Olympian buses (including 11m AV and 12m 3AV) again. Since then, 12m low-floor buses such as the Dennis Trident (ATR) and Enviro500 12m (ATE) have been running regularly on this route.

In November 2014, all KMB departures became low-floor, with ex-LWB buses such as the Dennis Trident 12m (ATR) and Enviro400 10.5m (ATSE) being deployed instead, and in 2015, the Dennis Tridents (ATR) was replaced by the Enviro500 12m (ATEU). In August of the same year, the Enviro500 MMC 12m (ATENU) buses was reassigned to replace the Dennis Tridents (ATR), officially making the whole route entirely using straigh staircase buses.

Since 2013, Citybus has regularly deployed Enviro500/MMC 12m (8110-8490) buses on this route.

Routing[]

to Happy Valley (Lower)[]

To Happy Valley: The distance of this route is approx. 10.5km, and the journey time is approximately 53mins. (The average speed is 11.9km/h.)

Via: Yen Chow Street, Cheung Sha Wan Road, Tonkin Street, Lai Chi Kok Road, Nathan Road, Gascoigne Road, Chatham Road South, Hong Chong Road, Cross Harbour Tunnel, Gloucester Road, Percival Street, Leighton Road and Wong Nai Chung Road

Cross-Harbour Bus Route 117 (Sham Shui Po (Yen Chow Street)Happy Valley (Lower))
No. Area Road Bus stop name (KMB) Bus stop name (Citybus) Remarks
1 Sham Shui Po Sham Shui Po (Yen Chow Street) Sham Shui Po (Yen Chow Street)
2 Cheung Sha Wan Road Yee Kok Court Yee Kok Court
3 Tonkin Street Lai Kok Estate Lai Kok Estate[11]
4 Lai Chi Kok Road Lai Lo House Lai Lo House Lai Kok Estate
5 Pei Ho Street Pei Ho Street
6 Shek Kip Mei Street Shek Kip Mei Street
7 Mong Kok Poplar Street Poplar Street
8 Arran Street Mong Kok Metropark Hotel Mongkok near Arran Street
9 Nathan Road Mong Kok Station (S10) Argyle Centre MTR logo
10 Shantung Street Mong Kok (S20) Shantung Street MTR logo
11 Yau Ma Tei Dundas Street Mong Kok (S25) Dundas Street
12 Man Ming Lane Yau Ma Tei (S32) Man Ming Lane
13 Gascoigne Road Labour Tribunal Labour Tribunal
14 Tsim Sha Tsui East Chatham Road South Hong Kong Polytechnic University Phase 8 Hong Kong Polytechnic University Phase 8
15 Cross-Harbour Tunnel BBI (A4) Cross-Harbour Tunnel Toll Plaza MTR logo Starting point of special departure
Designated interchange point for XHT routes
near The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Route1 Cross-Harbour Tunnel
16 Causeway Bay Gloucester Road Cannon Street Cannon Street Sectio Fare begins
17 Percival Street Lee Theatre Plaza Lee Theatre Plaza MTR logo near Times Square
18 Happy Valley Wong Nai Chung Road Sports Road Sports Road
19 Broadwood Road Broadwood Road
20 Amigo Mansion Amigo Mansion
21 Happy Valley (Lower) Bus Terminus Happy Valley (Lower)

to Sham Shui Po (Yen Chow Street)[]

To Sham Shui Po: The distance of this route is approx. 10.7km, and the journey time is approximately 53mins. (The average speed is 12.1km/h.)

Routing Roads observed

Regular
Wong Nai Chung Road, Sing Woo Road, King Kwong Street, Shan Kwong Road, Wong Nai Chung Road, Morrison Hill Road, Leighton Road, Canal Road West, Canal Road Flyover, Cross-Harbour Tunnel, Hong Chong Road, Chatham Road South, Gascoigne Road, Nathan Road, Lai Chi Kok Road, Wong Chuk Street, Yu Chau Street, Yen Chow Street, Yen Chow Street West, roundabout, Yen Chow Street West and Yen Chow Street
*
Racing Day Arrangement
Omit "Happy Valley Racecourse" stop on Wong Nai Chung Road.
Cross-Harbour Bus Route 117 (Happy Valley (Lower)Sham Shui Po (Yen Chow Street))
No. Area Road Bus stop name (KMB) Bus stop name (Citybus) Remarks
1 Happy Valley Happy Valley (Lower) Bus Terminus Happy Valley (Lower)
2 King Kwong Street King Kwong Street King Kwong Street
3 Wong Nai Chung Road Hong Kong Sanatorium and Hospital Hong Kong Sanatorium and Hospital
4 * Happy Valley Wong Nai Chung Road Happy Valley Racecourse Happy Valley Racecourse non-stop during horse racing at Happy Valley Racecourse
5 Causeway Bay Canal Road West Canal Road West Canal Road West near Times Square
Route1 Cross-Harbour Tunnel
6 Tsim Sha Tsui East Cross-Harbour Tunnel BBI (C1) Cross Harbour Tunnel Toll Plaza MTR logo Section fare begins
near The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
7 Jordan Gascoigne Road Diocesan Girls' School Diocesan Girls' School
8 Yau Ma Tei Nathan Road Public Square Street Yau Ma Tei (N39) Public Square Street
9 Dundas Street Mong Kok (N50) Dundas Street near Chow Tai Fook Centre, Sino Centre
10 Mong Kok Shantung Street Mong Kok (N56) Shantung Street MTR logo near Grand Plaza, Langham Place
11 Lai Chi Kok Road Kei Wing Primary School Kei Wing Primary School near Pioneer Centre
12 Tong Mi Road Mong Kok Tong Mi Road
13 Sham Shui Po Wong Chuk Street Tai Nan Street Tai Nan Street
14 Yu Chau Street Nam Cheong Street Sham Shui Po Nam Cheong Street
15 Kweilin Street Sham Shui Po Kweilin Street
16 Yen Chow Street Ki Lung Street Sham Shui Po Ki Lung Street near Dragon Centre
17 Tung Chau Street Park Tung Chau Street Park
18 Nam Cheong Estate Sham Shui Po Nam Cheong Estate
19 Sham Shui Po (Yen Chow Street) Sham Shui Po (Yen Chow Street)

Ridership[]

Route 117 used to observe Wan Chai towards Kowloon and the frequency was delayed due to traffic congestion in the area of Fleming Road, so it was diverted to head directly into the Cross-Harbour Tunnel via Canal Road Flyover to save journey time and to divert the traffic of other cross-harbour bus routes in Causeway Bay. However, this route does not run via the Canal Road bus-only lane towards Kowloon, and the Hong Kong Island-bound inermediate stop at the Cross Harbour Tunnel Toll Plaza is also located at the platform of the Southern District routes, making it impossible for passengers to wait for this route and other similar routes such as 112 which run deeper into Causeway Bay at the same time.

According to the Commissioner for Transport's presentation at the Wan Chai District Council meeting on 17 May 2016, this route would be operated on a trial basis on Sundays and public holidays, with a trial run planned for the third quarter of the same year.[12] It was eventually implemented on 31 July 2016,[4] making it the last full-day cross-harbour tunnel route to provide holiday service.

According to the 2009-2010 Bus Route Development Programme, the highest patronage rate was 72% during peak hours and the average occupancy rate was 15% during off-peak hours; about 100 passengers were picked up and dropped off at Wan Chai in the Kowloon direction, accounting for about 3.8% of the patronage.

Related Incidents[]

Bus Fans Incidents[]

CTB Dennis Dragon Farewell ceremony

Citybus' last Dennis Dragon ran on this route on its last service day

  • 6 May 2015: On the last day of service for Citybus Dennis Dragon, the only remaining vehicle (875/HD2541) ended its career on this route, resulting in a large number of photos and send-offs from bus fans at both termini.

Traffic Accidents[]

  • 29 October 2015: At around 3pm, a Sham Shui Po bound KMB Enviro500 MMC (ATENU534/TL1243) hit a man who jumped to his death from a nearby building on Nathan Road, Yau Ma Tei. The man hit the top of the bus and fell between the pavement and the road, and was confirmed dead at the scene upon arrival of ambulance personnel.[13]

Service Disruption[]

  • 21 May 2018: At around 8am, a drunken, half-naked man crossed the pedestrian crossing at the junction of Nathan Road and Waterloo Road in Yau Ma Tei at an angle. A KMB Enviro500 MMC (ATENU1303/VE3873) heading towards Sham Shui Po arrived and the driver immediately stopped and scolded the man for not obeying the traffic regulations to cross the road. The two then argued. The man was lying on the road. The driver immediately called the police, who later took the man away.[14]

Other Anecdotes[]

  • 24 October 2020: As Hong Kong actors Fred Cheng and Stephanie Ho were getting married on 7 November 2020, KMB's Enviro500 MMC (ATENU629/TN6108) was then affixed with the advertisement celebrating the wedding and began to run on this route, as the route number signifies the date of wedding.[15] Fianceé Ho said that the advertisement was funded by the fans group of fiancé Cheng and would be posted on the bus for around 2 months.[16] The advertisement was eventually removed in January 2021.

Gallery[]

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Remarks[]

Related Articles[]

References[]

  1. Citybus Limited, Route 117 Route Permanent Diversion [Passenger Notice], 31 Aug 2009.
  2. 聯營路線終於有抵站時間預報功能 (ETA available finally for jointly-operated routes), hkitalk.net
  3. 第11項:2012-2013年度灣仔區巴士路線發展計劃 (Item 11: Wan Chai District Bus Route Development Programme 2012-2013), The Third Meeting of the Committee on Development, Planning and Transport of the Fourth Wan Chai District Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, 24 April 2012
  4. 4.0 4.1 Citybus Limited, "Route 117 Additional Sunday and public holiday services" [Passenger Notice], 15 Jul 2016.
  5. Transport Department HKSARG, "Trial for Service on Sundays and Public Holidays of Cross Harbour Route no. 117 Sham Shui Po (Yen Chow Street) – Happy Valley (Lower)" [Traffic Notice], 22 Jul 2016.
  6. The Kowloon Motor Bus Company (1933) Limited, "Cross-Harbour Route 117 Introduces Holiday Services" [News Release and Passenger Notice], 26 Jul 2016.
  7. Transport Department HKSARG, "Extension of Trial Period for Service on Sundays and Public Holidays of Cross Harbour Route no. 117 Sham Shui Po (Yen Chow Street) – Happy Valley (Lower)" [Traffic Notice], 2 Nov 2016.
  8. Transport Department HKSARG, "Extension of Trial Period for Service on Sundays and Public Holidays of Cross Harbour Route no. 117 Sham Shui Po (Yen Chow Street) – Happy Valley (Lower)" [Traffic Notice], 6 Feb 2017.
  9. Transport Department HKSARG, "Continuation of Services on Sundays and Public Holidays of Cross Harbour Route no. 117 (Sham Shui Po (Yen Chow Street) – Happy Valley (Lower))" [Traffic Notice], 4 Aug 2017.
  10. Citybus Limited & New World First Bus Services Limited, "NWFB and Citybus Extend “Next Bus” Arrival Service Further Now Covering All Citybus Franchised Routes" [News Release], 28 May 2018.
  11. Citybus refer tto his stop as "Lai Kok Estate" on its website and its route map, but the stop announcement system plays "Lai Kwai House, Lai Kok Estate".
  12. 運輸署署長出席灣仔區議會大會 (Commissioner for Transport attended the Wan Chai District Council meeting), 17 May 2016.
  13. 【蘋民直擊】男子墮斃巴士旁 目擊者:好恐怖 (Man falls to death next to bus; witnesses: horrible), Apple Daily Breaking News, 29 October 2015.
  14. 亂過路遭車長阻止 半裸男發難渣瞓地攔九巴 (KMB Bus captain stops jaywalker; half-naked man in went out of control and blocked KMB bus), Oriental Daily News, 21 May 2018.
  15. [即日快報] 藝人鄭俊弘何雁詩結婚 全車身巴士廣告 (Actors Fred Cheng and Stephanie Ho's wedding full-body bus advertisement), hkitalk.net.
  16. 婚照現九巴車身被嘲浮誇 準新娘懶理負評 何雁詩讚鄭俊弘粉絲有心思 (Wedding ohoto on KMB bus body being criticised as exaggeration: fianceé Stephanie Ho disregards criticisms and praises Fred Cheng's fans for the good idea) , Ming Pao, 26 October 2020.

External links[]

Template:KMBDT

Template:Pig-CBNW

Template:List of Sham Shui Po District Bus RoutesTemplate:List of Wan Chai District Bus Routes Template:Cross-Harbour Tunnel Bus Routes

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