Hong Kong Buses Wiki
Advertisement

The Cross Harbour Bus Route 608 is operated solely by Citybus. It runs between Kowloon City (Shing Tak Street) and Shau Kei Wan, via Kowloon To Kwa Wan, Kai Tak, Kai Yip Estate and Kowloon Bay Business Area, and passes through Kwun Tong Bypass, Eastern Harbour Crossing to and from North Point East, Quarry Bay and Sai Wan Ho.

Route 608 is the only whole-day EHC route with terminus located in Kowloon West.

History[]

Commencing background[]

In view of the increasing population in the Kai Tak Development Area, the Transport Department (TD) proposed in the 2017-2018 Bus Route Planning Programme to introduce three new bus routes, including a one-way cross-harbour route from Kowloon City (Shing Tak Street) to Sai Wan Ho (Grand Promenade), with two trips during morning peak hours from Mondays to Fridays only, and no return service to Kowloon from Hong Kong Island. In 2017, the Department invited the franchised bus companies to submit proposals on the operation of the routes for selection. The three new routes were expected to commence service in 2018 if the selection exercise was successful. [1]

After a round of preparation, the TD invited tenders for the three new bus routes in the area in February 2018 and announced the results in April, with all three routes being awarded to Citybus [2]. Among them, the route to Sai Wan Ho, numbered as 608 and changed to daily whole-day bidirectional service [3], with the return journey detouring via the section of Wang Chiu Road opposite to MegaBox and Pau Chung Street in To Kwa Wan, was originally scheduled to commence service on 30 June; however, the extended section of Shing Kai Road (the section of Route D2 from Sung Wong Toi Road to Muk On Street) has been delayed for a long time, and the TD does not want to operate this route and arrange temporary diversion before the commissioning of this section of the road, and as a result, it was necessary to postpone the commencement of the operation.

TD announced on 20 July that the extension of Shing Kai Road would be officially opened to traffic on 25 July at 2:00 p.m.[4]. The original plan was to put Route 608 into service as soon as possible [5]. However, the original return routing had to turn left from Ma Tau Kok Road to Pau Chung Street, which was too narrow for 12.8-metre buses, and therefore had to be re-routed or replaced by a shorter bus.

Route 608 was eventually put into service on 27 August, but it only provided one-way service to Sai Wan Ho during morning peak hours from Mondays to Fridays [6][7], which once aroused the dissatisfaction of the residents [8]. After negotiation between Citybus and TD on the routing towards Kowloon City (Shing Tak Street), the route was upgraded to whole-day bidirectional service on 2 December, with the return trip to To Kwa Wan being rerouted via the whole section of To Kwa Wan Road southbound and the upper section of Ma Tau Wai Road. [9][10]

Service change history[]

  • 16 August 2020: Eastern District terminus was relocated from Sai Wan Ho (Grand Promenade) to Shau Kei Wan: [11][12][13]
    • Except before 09:00 on Mondays to Fridays, trips from Kowloon City additionally observed Kai Fuk Road with additional stops at "Wang Tung Street", then passing through Sheung Yee Road and Wang Chiu Road to return to Kwun Tong Bypass and the original routing; after reaching Tai Hong Street, all trips were rerouted via Lei King Road, Tai On Street, Shau Kei Wan Road, Aldrich Street and Nam On Street to Shau Kei Wan, with new stops added at "Lei King Wan" on Lei King Road, "Sai Wan Ho Station" on Tai On Street, as well as "Hoi An Street", "Aldrich Bay Road (Shau Kei Wan Road)" and "Nam Hong Street" on Shau Kei Wan Road along the way;
    • For Kowloon City direction, buses would return to the original routing via Nam On Lane and Shau Kei Wan Road, with new stops at "Sun Sing Street", "Hoi An Street" and "Sai Wan Ho Civic Centre" on Shau Kei Wan Road, and the original "Munsang College Hong Kong Island" stop on Tai On Street was cancelled;
    • The temporary arrangement of not entering Muk Ning Street from the date of service commencement was made permanent;
    • The first bus time from Shau Kei Wan was advanced from 06:10 to 06:05.
  • 4 October 2020: To tie in with the completion of the Shatin to Central Link project, the bus stop at "Shansi Street" on Chatham Road North for Kowloon City direction was cancelled, and was changed to stop at "Lok Shan Road" stop on Ma Tau Wai Road instead. [14][15]
  • 3 January 2021: A new stop was added at "EMSD Headquarters" on Shing Kai Road for both directions [16]
    • Due to pedestrian walkway works, the stop for Kowloon City direction was added only on 10 January. [17][18]
  • 1 November 2021: A new stop was added at "Muk Tai Street" on Shing Kai Road for Shau Kei Wan direction. [19][20]
  • 23 April 2023: A neW stop was added at "Tak Long Estate Carpark" on Shing Kai Road for both directions.[21]
  • 30 July 2023: [22][23]
    • Departures from Kowloon City (Shing Tak Street) after 09:00 on Mondays to Fridays, whole day on Saturdays, Sundays and Public Holidays were rerouted via Sheung Yuet Road return to Sheung Yee Road and original routing after reaching Wang Chiu Road near Richland Gardens, omitting Kai Cheung Road and Kai Fuk Road:
      • Bus stops at "Hong Kong Auxiliary Police Force Headquarters" and "Wang Chin Street" on Kai Cheung Road, "KITEC" on Kai Fuk Road, as well as "Sheung Yee Road" on Sheung Yee Road were cancelled;
    • All trips from Kowloon City (Shing Tak Street) no longer detoured via Tai Hong Street, Lei King Road and Tai On Street:
      • Bus stops at "Tai Hong House" on Tai Hong Street, "Lei King Wan" on Lei King Road, as well as "Sai Wan Ho Station" on Tai On Street were cancelled and were replaced by the bus stop at "Tai On Building" on Shau Kei Wan Road instead.

Service hours and headways[]

The latest update is on 11/2023, see here for the referenced link

From Kowloon City (Tak Shing Street)
Service hours Headways (mins)
Monday to Friday
The following departures reroute via Kai Cheung Road and Kai Fuk Road
05:40 - 06:10 30
06:10 - 07:00 25
07:00 - 07:20 20
07:20 - 07:50 15
07:50 - 08:00 10
08:25、08:55
The following departures resume normal routing
09:20 - 10:10 25
10:10 - 15:10 30
15:10 - 16:50 25
16:50 - 17:09 19
17:09 - 17:45 12
17:45 - 18:10 10/15
18:10 - 18:30 20
18:30 - 00:00 30
Saturdays
05:40 - 16:40 30
16:40 - 20:00 25
20:00 - 00:00 30
Sundays and Public Holidays
05:40 - 15:10 30
15:10 - 18:30 25
18:30 - 00:00 30
From Shau Kei Wan
Service hours Headways (mins)
Mondays to Fridays
06:05 - 07:05 20
07:05 - 07:30 25
07:30 - 07:55 13/12
07:55 - 08:15 20
08:15 - 08:40 25
08:40 - 16:10 30
16:10 - 18:15 25
18:15 - 18:55 20
18:55 - 20:35 25
20:35 - 23:35 30
23:35 - 00:00 25
Saturdays, Sundays and Public Holidays
06:05 - 20:05 30
20:05 - 20:30 25
20:30 - 00:00 30
Detailed timetable

Cross-Harbour Bus Route 608/Detailed timetable

This route provides "Next Bus" Arrival Time Enquiry Service.

Fares[]

Journey/Boarding stops Fares
Full fares $12.2
Fare chart (to Shau Kei Wan)
From Healthy Village $6.1
Fare chart (to Kowloon City)
From Eastern Harbour Crossing Bus-Bus Interchange $6.1
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", 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".

Octopus 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:Cross Harbour Bus Route 608 Interchange Concession Schemes

Eastern Harbour Cross Interchange interchange concessions[]

Template:EHC Interchange Concession Scheme

Bus deployments[]

This route uses 10 vehicles and is required by the tender to be served by double-decker buses with two wheelchair spaces, mainly using Enviro500 MMC 12.8m (6426-6443) and Volvo B8L 12m (5230-5236, 8806-8829, 521XX).

Routing[]

To Shau Kei Wan[]

The distance of this route is approx. 16.4km, and the journey time is approximately 65mins. (The average speed is 15.1km/h.)

Routing Roads observed

Regular
Shing Tak Street, Fu Ning Street, Ma Tau Chung Road, Mok Cheong Street, To Kwa Wan Road, Shing Kai Road, Muk On Street, roundabout, Muk On Street, Shing Kai Road, L3 road, Wang Chiu Road, Sheung Yuet Road, Sheung Yee Road, Wang Chiu Road, Kwun Tong Bypass, Lei Yue Mun Road, Eastern Harbour Crossing, Island Eastern Corridor, Man Hong Street, King's Road, Shau Kei Wan Road, Aldrich Street and Nam On Street
*
Weekday AM peak hour
reroute via Kai Cheung Road and Kai Fuk Road
..., L3 road, Wang Chiu Road, Kai Cheung Road, Kai Fuk Road, Kwun Tong Bypass, Lei Yue Mun Road, ......
Cross-Harbour Bus Route 608 (Kowloon City (Tak Shing Street)Shau Kei Wan)
No. Area Road Bus stop name Remarks
1 Ma Tau Wai Shing Tak Street Kowloon City (Shing Tak Street)
2 Ma Tau Chung Road Sung Wong Toi Road
3 Mok Cheong Street Pak Tai Street
4 To Kwa Wan The HK Society for the Blind
5 Kai Tak Grid Neighbourhood Shing Kai Road Muk Tai Street
6 EMSD Headquarters
7 Muk On Street Victoria Skye MTR logo
8 Kai Tak Shing Kai Road Tak Long Estate Carpark
9 Tak Long Estate
10 Kowloon Bay Wang Chiu Road Block 8 Richland Gardens
11 Kai Yip Estate
12 Kowloon Bay Business Area Lam Wah Street Not applicable to AM peak trips using routing ②
13 Sheung Yuet Road Enterprise Square Near Zero Carbon Building
Not applicable to AM peak trips using routing ②
14 Sheung Yee Road MegaBox Not applicable to AM peak trips using routing ②
* Kowloon Bay Business Area Kai Cheung Road Hong Kong Auxiliary Police Force Headquarters Applicable to AM peak trips using routing ②
Wang Chin Street
Kai Fuk Road Hongkong Post Building
Route2 Kwun Tong Bypass, Lei Yue Mun Road
15 Yau Tong Eastern Harbour Crossing Bus-Bus Interchange BBI Logo GreenYellow Designated interchange stop for EHC routes
Route2 Eastern Harbour Crossing; Route4 Island Eastern Corridor
16 North Point King's Road Healthy Village Section fare begins here
17 Model Housing Estate MTR logo
18 Quarry Bay North Point Government Primary School MTR logo
19 Sunway Gardens Near Taikoo Place
20 Shipyard Lane MTR logo
21 Kornhill Cityplaza MTR logo Near Kornhill Garden
22 Sai Wan Ho Shau Kei Wan Road Tai On Building
23 Hoi An Street
24 Aldrich Bay Road
25 Shau Kei Wan Nam Hong Street
26 Shau Kei Wan MTR logo

To Kowloon City (Shing Tak Street)[]

To Kowloon City: The distance of this route is approx. 19.1km, and the journey time is approximately 78mins. (The average speed is 14.7km/h.)

Via: Unnamed road, Nam On Lane, Shau Kei Wan Road, King's Road, Kornhill Road, King's Road, Healthy Street West, Tsat Tsz Mui Road, Tin Chiu Street, Java Road, Man Hong Street, Island Eastern Corridor, Eastern Harbour Crossing, Lei Yue Mun Road, Kwun Tong Bypass, Wang Chiu Road, L3 road, Shing Kai Road, Muk On Street, roundabout, Muk On Street, Shing Kai Road, To Kwa Wan Road, Ma Tau Wai Road, Gillies Avenue North, San Lau Street, Chatham Road North, Ma Tau Wai Road, Ma Tau Chung Road, Ma Tau Kok Road and Shing Tak Street

Cross-Harbour Bus Route 608 (Shau Kei WanKowloon City (Shing Tak Street))
No. Area Road Bus stop name Remarks
1 Shau Kei Wan Shau Kei Wan MTR logo
2 Shau Kei Wan Road Sun Sing Street
3 Sai Wan Ho Hoi An Street
4 Sai Wan Ho Civic Centre MTR logo
5 Tai Foo Street
6 Kornhill Kornhill Road Kornhill Plaza MTR logo
7 Quarry Bay King's Road Bo Fung Gardens MTR logo
8 Sunway Gardens
9 Mansion Street
10 North Point Healthy Village
11 Tin Chiu Street Tin Chiu Street
Route4 Island Eastern Corridor; Route2 Eastern Harbour Crossing
12 Yau Tong Eastern Harbour Crossing Bus-Bus Interchange Section fare begins here
Route2 Lei Yue Mun Road, Kwun Tong Bypass
13 Kowloon Bay Business Area Wang Chiu Road MegaBox Near Zero Carbon Building
14 Lam Wah Street
15 Kowloon Bay Kowloon Bay Sports Ground
16 Block 18 Richland Gardens Near Kai Yip Estate
17 Block 13 Richland Gardens
18 Kai Tak Shing Kai Road Tak Long Estate For Kai Ching Estate, please alight at this stop
19 Tak Long Estate Carpark
20 Kai Tak Grid Neighbourhood Muk On Street Victoria Skye MTR logo
21 Kai Tak Shing Kai Road EMSD Headquarters
22 To Kwa Wan To Kwa Wan Road Grand Waterfront
23 Kwei Chow Street Near Wyler Gardens
24 Lok Shan Road
25 Ngan Hon Street
26 Ma Tau Wai Road Lok Shan Road MTR logo Near To Kwa Wan Market
27 Tin Kwong Road
28 Ma Tau Wai Geranium House Ma Tau Wai Estate
29 Shing Tak Street Kowloon City (Shing Tak Street) Near Ma Tau Wai Estate

Ridership[]

Route 608 takes Kwun Tong Bypass to provide a quicker way for Kowloon Bay Business Area to travel to and from Hong Kong Island, taking away part of Route 606's patronage from that area; it also provides express service to Kai Tak, Richland Gardens and Kai Yip Estate to travel to and from the east of North Point, with a good patronage during peak hours. However, the Kai Tak New Development Area is still in the development stage, and residents of To Kwa Wan do not have a clear advantage over the original Route 106 and Route 116 when travelling on this route [24], and the off-peak patronage is on the low side.

According to Bus Route Planning Programmes and other documents, the ridership of this route is as follows:

  • 2019: Since the upgrading of the service to a two-way whole-day service, apart from individual trips during the morning peak hours, the overall patronage of trips during the rest of the day has not been high[25], with a maximum of only 15% patronage for Hong Kong Island-bound trips. [26]
  • 2020: The occupancy rate during the peakiest hour was 70%[27], with 7% of the passengers alighting at Grand Promenade.[28] And with reference to the weekday patronage record in December, the total number of passengers travelling between Siu Sai Wan and Kowloon City using the Octopus interchange concession on Routes 85 and 608 throughout the day was only about 16.[29]
  • 2022: With the new normal of the COVID-19 pandemic and the commissioning of the cross-harbour section of the East Rail Line, the patronage dropped by about 15% as compared with that before the fifth wave of the epidemic.[30]
  • 2023: The occupancy rate during the peakiest hour was 69%.

Gallery[]

Crystal Clear mimetype image
More pictures, photos and related information about this article are available in the following Gallery Page:


Remarks[]

Related articles[]

  • Cross-Harbour Bus Route 106
  • Cross-Harbour Bus Route 106A
  • Cross-Harbour Bus Route 106P
  • Cross-Harbour Bus Route 116
  • Cross-Harbour Bus Route 606
  • Cross-Harbour Bus Route 606A
  • Cross-Harbour Bus Route 608P

References[]

  1. The Traffic and Transport Committee of the Fifth Kowloon City District Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, "第八次會議紀錄" (Minutes of the 8th Meeting), 2 March 2017.
  2. "開辦來往啟德新發展區的巴士服務" (Introduction of new bus services in the Kai Tak Development Area), Sham Shui Po District Council Transport Committee, 9 April 2018
  3. "啟德大角咀巴士線月底通車" (New bus route between Kai Tak and Tai Kok tsui to launch by the end of this month), Wen Wei Po, 11 April 2018.
  4. Transpprt Department HKSARG, "Opening of new roads in Kowloon City District" [Traffic Advice], 20 July 2018.
  5. The Eastern Territory Development Office, Civil Engineering and Development Department, "啟德發展計劃-基建工程進度報告(截至2018年5月31日)" (Kai Tak Development Project - Infrastructure Works Progress Report (as at 31 May 2018)), Kowloon City District Council Traffic and Transport Committee Paper No. 67/18, June 2018
  6. Transport Department HKSARG, "Introduction of Cross Harbour Route No. 608 Kowloon City (Shing Tak Street) to Sai Wan Ho (Grand Promenade)" [Traffic Advice], 22 August 2018.
  7. Citybus Limited, "Citybus launches Kowloon Urban Cross-Harbour Route 608" [News Release], 23 August 2018.
  8. 新巴士線608平日得兩班兼單程 東區居民鬧爆無車搭 (Only 2 one-way trips available during weekday for new route 608 draws criticism from Eastern District residents), HK01, 28 Aug 2018.
  9. Transport Department HKSARG, "Service adjustments of Cross Harbour Route No. 608 Kowloon City (Shing Tak Street) - Sai Wan Ho (Grand Promenade)" [Traffic Advice], 22 November 2018.
  10. Citybus Limited, "Citybus Upgrades Route 608 to Whole-day Service" [News Release], 27 November 2018.
  11. Transport Department HKSARG, "Service adjustments of Cross Harbour Route No. 608 Kowloon City (Shing Tak Street) - Shau Kei Wan" [Traffic Advice], 12 August 2020.
  12. Citybus Limited & New World First Bus Services Limited, "NWFB Extends Route 2X to Sai Wan Ho (Grand Promenade) Citybus Extends Route 608 to Shau Kei Wan" [News Release], 14 August 2020.
  13. Transport and Housing Bureau, "Legislative Council Brief: Public Bus Services Ordinance (Cap. 230) Schedule of Routes of Public Franchised Bus Companies Order", 27 January 2021.
  14. Transport Department HKSARG, "Arrangements of Bus Stops on Ma Tau Wai Road southbound, To Kwa Wan" [Traffic Advice], 21 September 2020.
  15. Citybus Limited, "Route 107, 608 Relocation of Bus Stops at Shansi Street, Chatham Road North" [Passenger Notice], 23 September 2020.
  16. Citybus Limited, "Route 608 Additional Bus Stop at EMSD Headquarters" [Passenger Notice], 29 December 2020.
  17. Citybus Limited, "Route 608 Temporary Suspension of Bus Stop at EMSD Headquarters, Shing Kai Road" [Passenger Notice], 30 December 2020.
  18. Citybus Limited, "Route 608 Reinstatement of Bus Stop at EMSD Headquarters, Shing Kai Road" [Passenger Notice], 30 December 2020.
  19. Transport Department HKSARG, "Addition of Bus Stop of CTB Route No. 608 (Kowloon City (Shing Tak Street) - Shau Kei Wan)" [Traffic Advice], 27 October 2021.
  20. Citybus Limited, "Citybus Launches New Express Route 608P to Kowloon Bay Business Area" [News Release], 28 October 2021.
  21. Citybus Limited, "Route 20, 20A, 22, 22M, 608, 608P, N20 Addition of Bus Stops in Kai Tak Area" [Passenger Notice], 19 April 2023.
  22. Transport Department HKSARG, "Service adjustments of CTB Route No. 608 (Kowloon City (Shing Tak Street) - Shau Kei Wan)" [Traffic Advice], 24 July 2023.
  23. Citybus Limited, "Route 608 Routeing Amendment and Bus Stop Changes" [Passenger Notice], 24 July 2023.
  24. 【紅隧vs東隧】北角健康村→土瓜灣,隧巴106 VS 608 North Point Healthy Village→To Kwa Wan ,106 VS 608, YouTube
  25. "城巴有限公司回應有關:要求608巴士線提供更適切的轉乘優惠" (Response from Citybus Limited: "Demand for more appropriate interchange concessions for Route 608"), Kowloon City District Council Traffic and Transport Committee Paper No. 06/19, 4 March 2019
  26. "九龍城區議會轄下交通及運輸事務委員會第二十次會議記錄" (Minutes of the 20th Meeting of the Panel on Transport and Traffic of the Kowloon City District Council), Section 45, 7 March 2019.
  27. Transport Department HKSARG, "2020-2021年度東區巴士路線計劃" (2020-21 Eastern District Bus Route Planning Programme), Annex 6, February 2020.
  28. Kwun Tong District Council Secretariat, "第六屆觀塘區議會屬下交通及運輸委員會第二次會議記錄(第8.7點)" (Minutes of the 2nd Meeting of the Traffic and Transport Committee of the 6th Kwun Tong District Council (Point 8.7)), May 2020.
  29. "東區區議會交通及運輸事務成員會轄下公共交通及道路安全工作小組尚待處理的跟進事項跟進報告" (Follow-up report on outstanding follow-up actions by the Working Group on Public Transport and Road Safety under the Traffic and Transport Committee of the Eastern District Council), Eastern District Council Public Transport and Road Safety Working Group Paper No. 8/21.
  30. Kowloon City District Council Secretariat, "九龍城區議會轄下 交通及運輸委員會 第十七次會議記錄(第19點)" (Minutes of the 17th Meeting of the Traffic and Transport Committee of the Kowloon City District Council (Point 19)), November 2022.

External links[]

Template:Pig-CBNW

Template:List of Kowloon City District Bus RoutesTemplate:List of Eastern District Bus Routes Template:Eastern Harbour Crossing Bus Routes

Advertisement