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Discovery Bay Transit Services Limited (愉景灣交通服務有限公司), abbr. DBTSL (愉景灣交通服務愉景灣巴士), is a non-franchised bus operator in Hong Kong and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hong Kong Resort (HKR) Company Limited, the developer of Discovery Bay, which mainly provides local and external residents' bus services for Discovery Bay. It also operates local hail-and-ride "taxi" services with branded 7-seat minivans (similar to van-type taxi services) for areas not regularly served by the bus routes.

All roads within Discovery Bay, together with the Discovery Bay Tunnel, are private roads. The Government restricts the classes or types of vehicles that may pass through the tunnel through the Discovery Bay Tunnel and Link Roads Ordinance (Cap. 520), and G.N. 3264 of 2000 specifies the classes and types of vehicles that may pass through the Discovery Bay Tunnel, including emergency vehicles, trucks for the purpose of transporting goods to or from Discovery Bay, or for the purpose of providing services or carrying out repair, maintenance, construction or other work, and so on. These include emergency vehicles, goods vehicles carrying goods to and from Discovery Bay, providing services, or carrying out repair, maintenance, construction, etc., and public buses providing residents' bus services, students' services, and transportation for persons with disabilities, etc.[1]

Although DBTSL does not have a franchise to operate land transport in Discovery Bay, DB buses are part of the above authorised vehicles and are therefore exclusively provided by DBTSL to residents.

History[]

Hong Kong Resort was incorporated as Discovery Bay Transportation Services Limited on 10 February 1981 and started to provide residents of various housing estates with local resident bus services. In the early days, the only external public transport in Discovery Bay was the ferry to and from Central and therefore the Discovery Bay bus network was based on the Discovery Bay Pier as the axle to facilitate residents' access to the area, and the frequency of bus services was scheduled according to the docking time of the ferry, which was collectively referred to as DB00R by the Transport Department (TD).

Hong Kong Resort's self-financed Discovery Bay Tunnel was officially opened on 27 May 2000[2], so that the external transportation of Discovery Bay was no longer confined to ferries. DB Transport operated external bus routes DB01R and DB02R on the day of the opening of the tunnel, connecting the Tung Chung MTR Station and the Airport. Benefiting from the opening of Sunny Bay MTR Station in 2005, DBTSL launched Route DB03R, which immediately replaced Route DB01R as the main rail connection for Discovery Bay residents.

On 1 April 2008, DBTSL adjusted its bus fares for the first time since the opening of the Discovery Bay Tunnel. Internal bus fares were increased from $3.5 to $4.0, and Tung Chung and Sunny Bay routes was increased from $8.0 to $9.1 for Tung Chung and Sunny Bay routes, whereas that of Airport route was increased from $28.0 to $32.0.[3][4]

On 7 April 2013, DBTSL adjusted its bus fares for the second time. The fare for local bus service was increased from $4.0 to $4.4, the fare for bus service to/from Tung Chung and Sunny Bay was increased from $9.1 to $10.0, and the fare for airport bus service was increased from $32.0 to $35.0[5][6]. As for the DB North Plaza fare concession, it remains unchanged ($4.0) until 25 February 2017, when it was be aligned with the internal bus route fare ($4.4).

In 2015, DBTSL began operating double deck buses on external routes DB01R, DB03P and DB03R in response to high ridership.

The long-used Discovery Bay Ferry Bus Terminus was closed from the early hours of 25 February 2017, and route reorganisation took effect with it, unlike the original plan:

  • Arrangement of Route 1 (T1) detouring via Seabee Lane was cancelled and the arrangement of Route 6 serving Seabee Lane alone was maintained and at the same time renamed as "T6".
  • Terminus of Routes T3 and T9 at Peninsula Village was swapped.
  • Route C4 (T4) and Route C9 (T9) cancelled circular operations (circular operation during midnight hours was maintained but ride restrictions were introduced).

On 1 January 2019, DBTSL adjusts bus fares for the third time and separates the fares for residents and visitors. The fare for internal bus service was increased from $4.4 to $5.2, whereas the fare for bus service to/from Tung Chung and Sunny Bay was increased from $10.0 to $12.0, and the fare for airport bus service was increased from $35.0 to $40.0[7], with the fares for Octopus cards of registered Discovery Bay residents remain unchanged. The DB North Plaza fare discount was not increased to $4.4 for both residents and visitors, and there were plans to cancel the visitor fare discount at one point.

On 1 April 2020, the DB North Plaza fare discount was officially terminated and replaced by the current free transportation discount for dine-in at designated restaurants.

On 7 June 2020, Routes 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6 became the first regular internal routes to resume service, followed by 4 and 9 from 8 November of the same year, replacing all T routes.

On 11 December 2021, the frequency of Routes 4 and 9 to Peninsula Village was split into separate routes 4A and 9A.

On 11 July 2022, DBTSL adjusted its bus fares for the fourth time, with the fare of local bus service increased from $5.2 to $6.2 (resident's fare increased from $4.4 to $5.1), and the fare of bus service to/from Tung Chung and Sunny Bay increased from $12.0 to $14.3 (resident's fare increased from $10.0 to $11.6), as well as the fare of airport bus service increased from $40.0 to $48.0, and the fare of airport bus service increased from $40.0 to $48.0 (from $35.0 to $40.6 for residents), and overnight bus service to and from Central was increased from $50.0 to $58.0 (from $36.0 to $41.7 for residents)[8].

On 25 September 2022, except Airport Bus Route DB02R/DB02A, all other routes were included in the $2 concessionary fare scheme for Hong Kong residents aged 60 or above and eligible persons with disabilities.

On 18 June 2023, all bus routes and taxis of Discovery Bay Transit Services Limited began to accept Octopus only and cash payment was no longer accepted.

Overview[]

Hong Kong Resort Company Limited, the developer of Discovery Bay, has been a 50/50 joint venture between HKR International Limited and CITIC (formerly known as CITIC Pacific) since the 1990s.

Discovery Bay Transportation Services Limited used to be a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hong Kong Resort Company Limited. In order to streamline its management structure and save costs, HKRI merged Discovery Bay Transportation, Discovery Bay Transportation Services Limited (DBTPL), the ferry operator, and Discovery Bay Tunnel Company Limited into Discovery Bay Transportation Branch (DBTB) in the 2002-2003 financial year.[8]

The DBTPL office is located at Room 101, Discovery Bay Business Centre, 2 Plaza Drive, Discovery Bay, Lantau Island, and its hotline is 2987 7351. In recent years, most of the documents published by DBTB have listed the 24-hour Customer Service Centre Hotline in Discovery Bay as 365 12345 for contact.

Bus routes[]

Internal Routes[]

Internal Bus Routes Information
Route No. Termini Fare Remarks
1 DB Plaza Bus TerminusHeadland Drive $6.2
2 DB Plaza Bus TerminusMidvale $6.2
3 DB Plaza Bus TerminusParkvale $6.2
4 Coastline VillaDB North $6.2
4A DB NorthCoastline Villa $6.2
5 DB Plaza Bus TerminusLa Serene $6.2
6 DB Plaza Bus TerminusSeabee Lane $6.2
9 Caperidge DriveChianti $6.2
9A ChiantiCaperidge Drive $6.2
9X Auberge Discovery Bay Hong KongDB Plaza Bus Terminus $6.2 Saturday and Holiday PM period service
18 DB Plaza Bus TerminusIL PICCO $6.2
S1 Nim Shue Wan JettySKH Wei Lun Primary School $6.2 Service during school day AM peak hours
S2 Discovery Bay PierSKH Wei Lun Primary School $6.2 Service during school day AM peak hours
S3 SKH Wei Lun Primary SchoolNim Shue Wan Jetty $6.2 Service during school day PM peak hours
S4 SKH Wei Lun Primary SchoolPeninsula Village $6.2 Service during school day PM peak hours
S5 SKH Wei Lun Primary SchoolLa Serene $6.2 Service during school day PM peak hours
S6 DB International SchoolPeninsula Village $6.2 Service during school day PM peak hours
S7 39 Caperidge DriveDB North PlazaDB Plaza Bus Terminus $6.2 Service during school day AM peak hours
1/6 DB Plaza Bus TerminusParkland Drive/Headland Drive/Seabee Lane $6.2 Combined route of Routes 1 and 6
N3/2 DB Plaza Bus TerminusParkvale/Midvale $6.2 Combined route of Routes 2 and 3, service during late night and early morning hours
N3/2/7/8 DB Plaza Bus TerminusParkvale Village/Midvale Village/Capeland Drive/Caperidge Drive $6.2 Combined route of Routes 2, 3, 7 and 8, overnight service
N4 DB Plaza Bus TerminusDB North $6.2
N5/1/6 DB Plaza Bus TerminusLa Serene/Headland Drive/Seabee Lane $6.2 Combined route of Routes 1, 5 and 6, overnight service
N7/8 DB Plaza Bus TerminusCapeland Drive/Caperidge Drive $6.2 Combined route of Routes 7 and 8, overnight service
  • In general, combined routes are based on the order of route numbering to determine the order of the areas they pass through.
  • The above bus routes are numbered as DB00R in Transport Department (TD)'s official information.

Discovery Bay Golf Club Routes[]

Passengers are not charged if they show a valid Discovery Bay Golf Club membership to the driver upon boarding.

Discovery Bay Golf Club Routes Information
Route No. Termini Service Modes
Golf Club Shuttle Bus Discovery Bay Golf ClubDB Plaza Service daily 24hr

Discovery Bay Marina Club Routes[]

"Discovery Bay Marina Club Company Limited", another subsidiary of HKR International, operates a Marina Club bus route.

Discovery Bay Marina Club Bus Route Information
Route No. Termini Service Modes
DB04R Service daily 24hr

Discovery Bay Recreation Club (DBRC) Routes[]

"Discovery Bay Recreation Club Company Limited" or DBRC for short, another subsidiary of HKR International, operates a DBRC bus route.

Discovery Bay Recreation Club (DBRC) Bus Route Information
Route No. Termini Service Modes
DB05R Discovery Bay Marina ClubDB International School
Discovery CollegeDiscovery Bay Marina Club
Service during after school hours on school days
DB06R Service daily

External Routes[]

External Bus Routes Information
Route No. Termini Full Fare Service Modes
DB01A DB North PlazaTung Chung Station Bus Terminus $14.3
DB01P Tung Chung Station Bus TerminusDB Plaza Bus Terminus $14.3 Service during Monday to Friday AM peak
DB01R DB Plaza Bus TerminusTung Chung Station Bus Terminus $14.3
DB02A DB (N) Commercial CentreHong Kong International Airport (New Coach Terminus) $48.0
DB02R DB Plaza Bus TerminusHong Kong International Airport (New Coach Station) $52.7 Service daily 24hr
DB03P DB (N) Commercial CentreSunny Bay $14.3
DB03R DB Plaza Bus TerminusSunny Bay $14.3
DB08R Discovery Bay (28 Coastline Villa)Central Pier 3 $58.0 Overnight ferry replacement service

Terminated/Suspended Routes[]

Internal Routes[]

Terminated/Suspended Bus Routes Information (Internal Routes)
Route No. Termini Remarks
2A Discovery Bay PierParkvale Drive Renumbered as current Route 3 on 4 April 2004.
2/3 Discovery Bay PierParkvale Village/ Midvale Village Combined route of Routes 2 and 3, service only during weekday non-peak hours and night to late night hours,
as well as daytime to late night during holidays.
Daytime to lane-night service was cancelled on 25 February 2017, and late-night departures were renumbered as Route N3/2,
and subseuqently terminated service on 7 June, replaced by Routes 2, 3 and N3/2.
4A (1st generation) Parkridge VillageDiscovery Bay Pier Morning unidirectional services introduced around August-October 2002,
cancelled on 4 April 2004 after route restructuring.[9]
4S DB (North) Commercial CentreChianti Commenced on a trial basis on 13 September 2010,
only provided service on school mornings,
and officially ceased service on 1 September 2011.[10]
8A Discovery Bay PierLa Serene/ La Serene Cancelled after route reorganisation on 4 April 2004, replaced by Route 5.[11]
9A (1st generation)
FS DB North <> Discovery Bay Pier Free Shuttle Bus, service suspended due to works at Discovery Bay Pier,
however officially cancelled after the commencement of DB Plaza Bus Terminus.
Due to the construction works at Discovery Bay Pier, the following routes were suspended
7 Discovery Bay PierPeninsula Village (Capeland Drive) Replaced by Routes 4 and 4A.
8 Discovery Bay PierPeninsula Village (Caperidge Drive) Replaced by Routes 9 and 9A.。
9S DB North PlazaCapeland Drive (Blossom Court)
C4 Clockwise circular
C9 Anti-clockwise circular

External Routes[]

Cancelled Bus Routes Information (External Routes)
Route No. Termini Fare Remarks
C1 Discovery Bay Pier Tsim Sha Tsui Operated by Sun Bus, converted to Route DB01P (1st generation) due to illegal operation
C2 Discovery Bay Pier Admiralty Overnight service, operated by Sun Bus, cancelled due to illegal operation
DB01P (1st generation) Discovery Bay Pier Siu Ho Wan (Government Maintenance Depot) Connecting to urban via Citybus Route P21, cancelled in late 2006
DB01S DB Plaza Tung Chung Station Cancelled on 12 April 2014 and fully replaced by Route DB03P

Shoppers' Bus Routes[]

The Shoppers' Bus (購物巴士) routes are a set of bus services specially designed by Discovery Bay Transit Services to facilitate local residents' access to Discovery Bay Plaza spending from 12:20 - 20:15/20:20, with a pre-cancellation fare of $3.5. The bus compartments were fitted with Luggage Racks to make it convenient to put away "loot" for the passengers.

All Shoppers' Bus Routes ceased operation on 4 April 2004 due to bus route rationalisation in the area.[12][13] For details of each Shoppers' Bus Routes please see the description of Shoppers' Bus on Discovery Bay old version official website[14].

List of Shopper's Bus Routes (購物巴士路線)[15]
Route No. Origin Destination Remarks
A DB Plaza Capevale Drive/ Capeland Drive/ Caperidge Drive
B DB Plaza Midvale Village
C DB Plaza Parkridge Village/ Greenvale Village
D DB Plaza Parkland Drive/ Headland Drive/ Seabee Lane

Fleets[]

In the early years of Discovery Bay's development, the bus fleet was mainly made up of Japanese models, with Isuzu LT112 large coaches and Toyota Coaster and Mitsubishi Rosa minibuses dominating in the early 1990s. To cope with the population growth in the area, DBTSL introduced two German Mercedes-Benz O405 single-decker buses in 1994, which were mainly corporate-class buses with the highest capacity in Hong Kong. These buses were the first city buses introduced to Discovery Bay[17] and since then, the company's purchasing preference has gradually shifted to European-made single-decker city buses.

Discovery Bay continued to expand into the millennium. With the opening of the Discovery Bay Tunnel, the focus of external transport gradually shifted from ferries to buses, making it difficult for single-deck buses to cope with the demand. At the suggestion of residents' representatives, DBTC started to study the feasibility of introducing double-decker buses in 2009[18]. After a series of trials, six Volvo B9TL double-decker buses were purchased and landed in Discovery Bay on 16 August 2015, deployed to Route DB03R, which has the highest ridership.

Subsequently, in 2016, DBTSL purchased four 1997 Volvo Olympian double-decker buses from Citybus, which commenced service on 30 June and were deployed to Route DB01R with higher patronage; and in the same year, four MAN A95 ND323Fs were purchased to replace the four second-hand Volvo Olympian double-decker buses. The ten double-decker buses eventually replaced ten single-decker buses (including DBAY73, 21, 35, 78, 90, 115, 127, 131, 166, 188; the Passenger Service Licences (PSLs) were sold due to the issue of passenger capacity limit) without any real increase in the fleet size, while the MAN A95 which came into service in 2020, could replace single-decker buses directly as permitted by the Transport Department (TD), and there was no need to sell or purchase passenger service licences.

Apart from large coaches for airport routes, most of DBTSL's bus fleet are now low-floor transit buses. All HKRI vehicles are assigned with a fleet number starting with "DBAY" (prior to 2008, the fleet number started with "HKR" for HKRI's "Hong Kong Resort") for more efficient fleet management. Buses and other types of vehicles (e.g. hire cars, etc.) are under the same numbering system. There is no specific allocation rule for buses, and buses of the same model may not be assigned with a certain set of numbers for numbering, and new buses will follow the old numbering system of their retired vehicles, rather than distinguishing between models, batches, equipment configurations or in-vehicle facilities as in the case of the fleet numbering system of the franchised bus companies.

On the other hand, DBTSL is also committed to reducing emissions from transport. Apart from the trial use of two government-funded electric buses to reduce roadside emissions, all diesel vehicles are now using Euro V diesel, and all buses currently in service have already met Euro V or Euro VI standards by the end of 2018, creating a cleaner community. This was done by replacing the older single deck buses with one large order of MAN 14.250 diesel and HEV buses.

Fleet Overview[]

The following table lists the bus fleet of Discovery Bay Transit Services Limited (DBTSL). For the sake of simplicity, only the numbers after "DBAY" are shown in the fleet number column.

Apart from DBTSL, some of HKRI's subsidiaries (e.g. Discovery Bay Golf Club Limited, Discovery Bay Yacht Club Limited, Discovery Bay Recreation Club Limited, Auberge Discovery Bay Hotel Company Limited, etc.) also have their own coach fleet to transport their guests, but these coaches are not listed in the table below. These buses also have DBAY fleet numbers and maintenance for the coaches are performed in-house by DBTSL.

This section was last updated on 5/202320235

DBTSL's Current Single-decker City Bus Specification Fleet Information
Make Body Fleet No. Engine Gearbox Service Years Remarks
MAN NL323 Gemilang
Lion's City Hybrid
70, 82, 97,
168, 182, 183,
185-187, 199
MAN D2066 LUH-32
(Euro 5)
2018
Gemilang
Lion's City Hybrid
Facelift
117, 198 MAN D2066 LUH-51
(Euro 6)
ZF EcoLife 6AP2000B
71, 116, 195, 196 MAN D2066 LUH-52
(Euro 6)
2021
MAN 14.250 Gemilang 175、176 MAN D0836 LOH-65
(Euro 5)
ZF Ecomat 4 6HP504C 2012
Gemilang
Lion's City Hybrid
79 2018
Gemilang
Lion's City Hybrid
Facelift
179 MAN D0836 LOH-81
(Euro 6)
2019
Enviro200 Dart Alexander Dennis
Enviro200
5, 27, 36, 37,
86, 121, 135
Cummins ISBe6.7EV225B
(Euro 5 EEV)
Voith DIWA 854.5 2014 [16]
Mitsubishi Rosa Mitsubishi 77, 155, 203 Mitsubishi 4P10-7AT4
(Euro 5)
Duonic
(6-speed)
2013
Toyota Coaster Toyota 75, 156, 173 Hino NO4C-UH
(Euro 5)
Hino M550
(5-speed manual gear)
2011
DBTSL's Current Single-decker Coach Bus Specification Fleet Information
Make Body Fleet No. Engine Gearbox Service Years Remarks
Volvo B7R Asia Aero 180, 181 Volvo D7E-290
(Euro 5)
Voith DIWA 864.5 2012
Daewoo BH117L Jitluen JL-10 137 Doosan DL08K
(Euro 5)
Allison T350 2013
Scania K280IB Marcopolo Audace
1050
171, 172 Scania DC09-113-280
(Euro 6)
Scania Opticruise
(6-speed)
2015
MAN RR2 Gemilang 136 MAN D2066 LUH-31
(Euro 6)
TBA 2017
DBTSL's Current Double-decker Bus Specification Fleet Information
Make Body Fleet No. Engine Gearbox Service Years Remarks
Volvo B9TL Wright Eclipse
Gemini 2
208-213 Volvo D9B-310
(Euro 5)
ZF EcoLife 6AP1403B 2015 [17]
MAN A95 Gemilang
Lion's City DD
215-218 MAN D2066 LUH-32
(Euro 5)
ZF EcoLife 6AP2000B 2017
Gemilang
Lion's City DD Facelift
107, 120,
197, 219, 220
MAN D2066 LUH-52
(Euro 6)
2020

DBTSL had leased three Citybus non-franchised buses (Dennis Darts) for service between 2004 and 2005 until the arrival of the new buses.

Gallery[]

Notes and References[]

  1. LCQ7 : Types of vehicles permitted to access Discovery Bay, 30 May 2007.
  2. HKR International Limited, "香港興業有限公司宣布愉景灣隧道及接駁道路本周六正式通車" ("HKR International announces the commencement of Discovery Bay Tunnel and Tunnel Link this Saturday") [News Release], 24 May 2000.
  3. 巴士車費調整 (二零零八年三月十五日) (Bus Fare Adjustment (15 March 2008)), DB Old version website.
  4. 愉景灣巴士加價 (DB Bus Fare Increase), HkiTalk.
  5. New Bus Fares (Effective 7 April 2013), DBAY official website.
  6. 愉景灣巴士4月7號加價 (DB Bus fares will be increased from 7 April onwards), HKiTalk.
  7. Adjustment of Visitor Bus Fares, DBAY official website.
  8. HKR International Group, 2002-2003 Annual Report (Hong Kong, HKR International Limited, 2003), p. 14.
  9. http://www.i-busnet.com/history/busroutes/db/dbr4a.html
  10. HKiTalk:愉景灣 4S 正式停辦
  11. http://www.i-busnet.com/history/busroutes/db/dbr8a.html
  12. i-busnet.com:2004年4月份新訊 (i-busnet.com: April 2004 Latest News)
  13. i-busnet:愉景灣交通 Shopper's Bus 專線(舊版) (i-busnet: DB Shoppers' Bus Routes (old version))
  14. (Related Picture: [1] and [2])
  15. Shopper's Bus, i-busnet.com
  16. F/N 135 is the 11.3m version, the rest are 10.4m versions.
  17. The first double-decker bus model ever introduced by DBTSL

Related Articles[]

  • DB Transport

External Links[]

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Discovery Bay Transportation Services LimitedDBTSLDiscovery Bay Transportation Services and Discovery Bay Transit Services Limited
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