KMB Route 40

This article is under translation from the Chinese version article.

Some contents may therefore be missing.
Welcome to help translating it into English by editing this article.
More article translation tips can be found in Hong Kong Buses Wiki:Article Translation.
Welcome to remove this template after the translation is finished.

A bus on Route Route 40 was passing through Kwun Tong Road
Route information
Terminus	Tsuen Wan (Belvedere Garden) ↔ Laguna City ●
via	Kwai Chung, Mei Foo, Wong Tai Sin, Diamond Hill, Kowloon Bay, Kwun Tong
Distance	To Laguna City: 24.0km To Tsuen Wan: 24.9km
Travelling time	To Laguna City: 95mins To Tsuen Wan: Morning: 85mins Afternoon: 99mins
Commencement date	9 May 1968
Operational information
Current operator	KMB
Current depot	Lai Chi Kok Depot (L), Lai Chi Kok Depot (Tsing Yi Sub-depot) (L)
Former depot	Kowloon Bay Depot (K)
Main Vehicle	ATENU
Fare information
Full fare	$10.1
No. of section fare(s)	To Laguna City: 1 To Tsuen Wan: 2
Service hours
Origin service time	05:40 - 00:20
Destination service time	05:45 - 00:20
Headway	10 to 25 minutes
Special trip(s)	Tsuen Wan (Belvedere Garden) → Laguna City (via Cheung Lai Street Cheung Sha Wan)●

The New Territories Bus Route 40 is operated by Kowloon Motor Bus. It runs between Tsuen Wan (Belvedere Garden) and Laguna City via Chai Wan Kok, Tsuen Wan Town Centre, Kwai Chung, Mei Foo, Cheung Sha Wan Business Area (←), Wong Tai Sin, Diamond Hill, Kowloon Bay, Kwun Tong Town Centre, Kwun Tong Business Area.

This route takes Ching Cheung Road and Lung Cheung Road, providing service to two satellite cities of Tsuen Wan and Kwun Tong , as well as the express service from Mei Foo to Kwun Tong, and is also the first bus route from Kwun Tong District to the New Territories West.

History

Satellite towns led to route creation

After the Second World War, the Hong Kong Government focused on building satellite towns in the periphery of the urban areas to alleviate the shortage of living space in the urban areas, which became the prototype of today's new towns, with Kwun Tong and Tsuen Wan being the first two satellite towns to be developed. Kwun Tong and Tsuen Wan were the first two satellite cities to be developed. As both cities were divided into public housing and industrial sites, the need to commute between the two places was inevitable. However, there was no direct public transport link between the two cities at that time, and external transport was mainly to the developed areas in Kowloon.

In view of the inconvenience of having to change buses at the Jordan Road Ferry for travelling between Tsuen Wan, Kwai Chung and Kowloon East, the Administration drafted a bus route between Tsuen Wan and Kwun Tong in late 1966. However, shortly after the plan was proposed, the 1967 riots occurred, and the plan for additional routes was delayed for a long time. Eventually, the new route named 40 came into operation on 9 May 1968, with its terminus at Tsuen Wan and Kwun Tong Ferry , both of which were the major transport hubs of the region at that time.

The introduction of this route was a great innovation, as there had never been a bus route from Kowloon East to the western part of the New Territories before. In addition, "40" was the largest KMB route in terms of number when it was first introduced.

At that time, Tsuen Wan New Town (including Kwai Chung, Kwai Chung and Tsing Yi district were not separated from Tsuen Wan until the 1980s) was connected to urban Kowloon only by Castle Peak Road (now Castle Peak Road - Kwai Chung), so this route was adopted as a matter of course when it was first introduced. However, on 29 October 1968, only five months after the opening of the route, Kwai Chung Road and Lai Chi Kok Bridge were opened to traffic, and the route was changed to use this new route to travel to and from Tsuen Wan on the following day. In addition, this route passed through the inner streets of Sham Shui Po, Shek Kip Mei, Kowloon City, etc., and indirectly took up part of the function of the original Route 2D between Sham Shui Po and Kwun Tong, which was truncated as a result of the 1967 Riots.

Opening of MTR turning from boom to bust

The first few years of the route's operation coincided with the rapid development of Tsuen Wan and Kwun Tong districts, and also the most prosperous days for local industries, with a large number of housing estates and factories springing up in the two districts, which constantly brought new sources of passengers to the route, and the number of passengers steadily increased accordingly. According to the 1973 patronage survey, Route 40 carried more than 15,000 passengers daily, of which 52% were westbound passengers and 48% were eastbound passengers.

However, as the original intention of this route was to provide a direct service between Tsuen Wan and Kowloon districts to improve the external traffic of the former, it had to pass through a number of pre-developed districts between Kwun Tong and Tsuen Wan, such as Cheung Sha Wan, Sham Shui Po, Shek Kip Mei, Tai Hang Tung, Kowloon City, and so on. After the opening of the Kowloon Peak Road (i.e. Lung Cheung Road and Ching Cheung Road), KMB operated Route 38 via these new roads, making this route more time-consuming and less direct than the latter, and resulting in the loss of some of the passengers travelling between Kwai Chung and East Kowloon to the latter.

The phased opening of the Mass Transit Railway (MTR) from 1979 onwards had a particularly devastating effect on this route. At first, the MTR only opened the Modified Initial System (the section between Shek Kip Mei and Kwun Tong), which had a lesser impact on this route and lost a small number of commuters. Instead, a feeder route, 40M, was operated between Tsuen Wan Ferry and Shek Kip Mei MTR Station to supplement the service of this route. However, after the commissioning of the Tsuen Wan Extension on 16 May 1982, many long-haul passengers were taken away from the Tsuen Wan Ferry Pier and Shek Kip Mei MTR Station, and the patronage of this route started to decline; however, as there was no MTR in Kowloon City at that time, the source of passengers for this route did not disappear completely. After the cancellation of KMB Route 6E in 1991, this route also served as a route between Sham Shui Po and Kwun Tong.

Public light buses (i.e. red minibuses) were also a major threat to this route. The "Kwun Tsuen Route", which runs between Kwun Tong Town Centre and Tsuen Wan Town Centre via Lung Cheung Road and Ching Cheung Road, was launched on 19 August 1999. With the advantage of not having to pass through the inner streets, this route has become one of the most popular PLB routes in a few years, as it has been able to provide a high frequency of service by using the vehicle-wave strategy, which has made it a popular route among the PLBs.

In the face of all these attacks, no major changes have been made to this route to meet the challenges, and the only one that had a more far-reaching impact was the extension of the route on 7 December 1995 from Kwun Tong Ferry to Laguna City.

Change of tactics and diversion via Lung Cheung Road and Ching Cheung Road

After more than 30 years of suffering from the above problems, a breakthrough was finally achieved in the 2010s. In view of the significant overlap between this route and Route 6D, KMB proposed in its 2012-2013 Bus Route Development Programme published in early 2012 to reorganise the two routes on the grounds of "the robust development of East Kowloon in recent years" and "enhancing the connectivity between Tsuen Wan and East Kowloon", by diverting this route between Choi Hung and Mei Foo via Lung Cheung Road and Ching Cheung Road, instead of via Sham Shui Po, Shek Kip Mei, Kowloon City, etc., with the intention of saving travelling time (78 mins -> 63 mins) and provide a more stable frequency. As for the original Sham Shui Po to Kowloon City section, the service was extended by Route 6D to Mei Foo together with Route 2A to provide Octopus interchange concession with this route instead.

Under the above rationalisation plan, direct bus services between Tsuen Wan and Kowloon City and between Castle Peak Road, Shek Kip Mei and Kwun Tong Town Centre would be lost. Although the new interchange combinations created as a result of this rationalisation would enable passengers to continue to travel between Sham Shui Po and Kwun Tong at a fare not higher than this route, the total fare of the existing interchange combinations which do not require a detour between the two places is more expensive than this route due to the increase in journey time by about 15 minutes by going through Choi Hung Road or Mong Kok.

The reorganisation plan has been discussed by the District Councils along the route, and even the District Council of Kowloon City, which will not be served by this route after the re-routing, has "let go" the proposal. However, Kwun Tong District Council Laguna City Constituency Ward Member, Mr. Tang Wing-chun, is adamant in his stance, and insists on opposing this proposal on the grounds that Laguna City would lose public transport services between Boundary Street and Prince Edward Road West after the re-routing, and demanded that Laguna City's transport services to/from Kowloon City be compensated (e.g. enhancing the frequency of GMB Route 69, which the Transport Department (TD) planned to extend to Embankment Road). TD later revised the plan by arranging for Route 69 to be split into a new extension, Route 69A, to and from Embankment Road, which was eventually accepted by Mr. Tang. TD and KMB eventually implemented the changes on 24 August 2013.

The Sham Shui Po District Council started to fight for the resumption of a full-day bus route to and from the Kwun Tong Town Centre near the time of the change, and even requested that the route be converted back to the original one, but KMB has all along refused to accede to the request. However, 11 weeks after the implementation of the change, KMB introduced the Octopus interchange concession on Route 2A with Routes 11B and 11D, and the total fare was the same as that of the former two routes, so that passengers can travel at a cheaper fare without having to make a detour via Choi Hung Road to travel between Sham Shui Po and Kwun Tong.

Route change history

• 9 May 1968: Route 40 entered service between Tsuen Wan Ferry and Kwun Tong Ferry.
• 30 October 1968: Diverted via Kwai Chung Road and Lai Chi Kok Bridge instead of Castle Peak Road - Kwai Chung for return journey to tie in with the opening of Kwai Chung Road.
• 5 November 1968: A new stop was added at unnamed new road near Ha Kwai Chung Village on Kwai Chung Road in the direction of Kwun Tong Ferry Pier.
• 1 July 1970: All section fares were cancelled and full fares were reduced.
• 26 July 1970, from 10:00 am onwards: To tie in with the opening of the new Lai Chi Kok Flyover at the junction of Cheung Sha Wan Road, Lai Chi Kok Road and Butterfly Valley Road:
  • Rerouted via the bridge for Tsuen Wan Ferry direction;
  • Rerouted via Tung Chau Street (now Tung Chau Street West) into Castle Peak Road after reaching Lai Chi Kok Beach Road for Kwun Tong Ferry direction.
• 14 January 1971: Due to the operation of the traffic signal at the junction of Tai Po Road, Shek Kip Mei Street and Un Chau Street, the section of Nam Cheong Street between Tai Po Road and Berwick Street was diverted to a one-way north-easterly route via Berwick Street and Shek Kip Mei Street to Un Chau Street for Kwun Tong Ferry direction.
• 1 July 1972: Kwun Tong Ferry terminus was relocated from Hoi Bun Road near the present Kwun Tong Driving School to a new terminus inside the Kwun Tong Ferry Concourse.
• 28 July 1973: Rerouted via Hing Wah Street instead of Cheung Wah Street for Tsuen Wan Ferry direction.
• 1975: Rerouted via Tai Ho Road to Sha Tsui Road and omitted Chung On Street for Tsuen Wan Ferry direction.
• 3 April 1976: Rerouted via the Nam Cheong Street bus-only lane to Un Chau Street for Tsuen Wan direction to tie in with the opening of the concerned bus-only lane.
• 30 September 1979 to 9 March 1981: Rerouted via Wai Chi Street for Tsuen Wan Ferry direction.
• 30 June 1980: Rerouted via Cheung Wing Road roundabout for Tsuen Wan Ferry direction.
• 9 September 1984: An additional section fare from Mei Foo Station for Tsuen Wan Ferry direction was added.
• 25 November 1984: Tsuen Wan Ferry terminus was relocated to a new terminus on the ground floor of Tsuen Wan Transport Complex.
• 22 March 1987: Due to the construction of Pedestrian Tunnel at Pei Ho Street, the route was rerouted via Pak Tin Street for Kwun Tong Ferry direction, no longer passing through Pei Ho Street, Berwick Street and Nam Cheong Street.
• 4 September 1988: An additional section fare from Mei Foo Station to Kwun Tong was introduced.
• 27 September 1988: Departures from Kwun Tong Ferry Pier were detoured via King Yip Street and Shing Yip Street to Hoi Yuen Road northbound to tie in with the implementation of new traffic management measures in Kwun Tong Industrial Area.
• 12 January 1989: Rerouted to use the roundabout outside Kwun Tong Ferry Concourse to enter Kwun Tong Ferry, instead of turning right at Wai Yip Street to enter the terminus.
• 18 November 1993: Rerouted to Kwun Tong Road roundabout via Cha Kwo Ling Road and Lei Yue Mun Road instead of Hoi Yuen Road during non-peak hours from Mondays to Saturdays for Tsuen Wan direction.
• 28 May 1995: Air-conditioned bus service was introduced.
• 7 December 1995: Kwun Tong terminus was relocated to Laguna City.
• 19 March 2000: Tsuen Wan terminus was relocated to Nina Tower.
• 5 March 2001: Rerouted via Kwun Tong Ferry Bus Terminus for Tsuen Wan direction.
• 5 November 2006: To tie in with the change of Hoi Yuen Road to full southbound, all Tsuen Wan (Nina Tower) bound trips leaving King Yip Street were diverted to Kwun Tong Road via Shing Yip Street eastbound, Cha Kwo Ling Road and Lei Yue Mun Road, instead of via Shing Yip Street westbound and Hoi Yuen Road.
• 1 July 2011: Air-conditioned bus services were enhanced.
• 7 May 2012: Upgraded to fully air-conditioned service together with Routes 32M and 39A as one of the last three bus routes in New Territories West with non-air-conditioned bus service.
• 24 August 2013: The following changes were implemented:
  • Rerouted between Mei Foo and Kwun Tong Road via Lung Cheung Road and Ching Cheung Road, no longer via San Po Kong, Kowloon City, Shek Kip Mei, Sham Shui Po and Cheung Sha Wan (Laguna City direction only), and the bus stops along Prince Edward Road East to Castle Peak Road were cancelled with the cancelled section replaced by the Kowloon GMB Route 69A;
  • Rerouted via Butterfly Valley Road and MTR Lai Chi Kok Station after Ching Cheung Road for Tsuen Wan (Nina Tower) direction, then return to Mei Foo and original routing;
  • Octopus interchange concessions with the following routes were introduced:
    • Routes 2A and 6D to compensate for the impact of the original route for passengers travelling to San Po Kong, Kowloon City, Shek Kip Mei, Sham Shui Po and Cheung Sha Wan, and from the same day onwards, Route 6D was extended to Mei Foo to facilitate interchange between the two routes;
    • Tsuen Wan and Kwai Chung intra-district routes.
• 9 November 2013: Additional interchange concessions with bus routes to Wong Tai Sin, Kwun Tong and Sai Kung districts, as well as Route 6 were introduced.
• 25 January 2014: A new stop at "Tin Ma Court" on Lung Cheung Road was added for Laguna City direction.
• 4 August 2014:
  • A new stop was added at "Shing Yip Street Rest Garden" on Cha Kwo Ling Road for Tsuen Wan (Nina Tower) direction was added from the first departure onwards;
  • Starting from 10:00 a.m., the stop at "Millenium City" on Kwun Tong Road was cancelled and was changed to stop at "Ngau Tau Kok Railway Station" stop instead for Laguna City direction.
• 27 June 2015: Estimated Time of Arrival Enquiry System was introduced to this route.
• 26 September 2015: A new Octopus interchange concession with Route 3C at Wong Tai Sin Interchange was added.
• 19 December 2015: Octopus interchange concession with Route 5M was added.
• 29 March 2016: New special trips from Tsuen Wan (Nina Tower) to Laguna City at 17:30 and 18:18 on weekdays was introduced, and was rerouted via Butterfly Valley Road, Lai Chi Kok Road, Cheung Mau Street, Cheung Shun Street, Cheung Lai Street, Cheung Sha Wan Road and Castle Peak Road after reaching Cheung Sha Wan Road before returning to the original routing, with a new stop at "Cheung Lai Street Cheung Sha Wan" on Cheung Sha Wan Road.
• 13 February 2017: Tsuen Wan terminus was relocated to Belvedere Garden:
  • Rerouted via Hoi On Road, Lai Shun Road, Castle Peak Road - Tsuen Wan, Tai Chung Road and Sha Tsui Road before returning to original routing at Tai Ho Road for Laguna City direction. 5 new stop were added along the way, namely "Belvedere Garden Phase 3", "Belvedere Garden Phase 1", "Tsuen King Circuit Flyover", "Fuk Loi Estate Tai Chung Road" and "Moon Lok Dai Ha", and no longer served Nina Tower Bus Terminus;
  • Rerouted via Hoi Hing Road and Hoi On Road after passing through Castle Peak Road - Tsuen Wan, omitting Tai Ho Road and Nina Tower Bus Terminus for Tsuen Wan direction. 4 stops were added along the way, namely "Kin Ming Street Tsuen Wan", "Wing Hong House Fuk Loi Estate", "Tsuen King Circuit Flyover" and "Chai Wan Kok Street Tsuen Wan";
  • Due to the extended journey, special trips to Laguna City via Cheung Sha Wan Business Area were changed to depart at 17:26 and 18:17.
• 1 July 2017: A new section fare from "Kin Ming Street Tsuen Wan" stop was added for Tsuen Wan direction.
• 27 December 2018: Special departures to Laguna City via Cheung Sha Wan Business Area were increased to 3 trips with the new departure time at 17:50, while the original departure time remained unchanged.
• 1 February 2020: Interchange concessions with LWB Routes E31 and E32A were introduced until 31 January of the next year, which was later converted to a permanent measure.
• 1 March 2021: Interchange concessions with Residents' Bus Routes NR331 and NR331S were introduced.

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 1/2024, see here for the referenced link

From Tsuen Wan (Belvedere Garden) Service hours Headways (mins) Mondays to Fridays 05:40 - 06:00 20 06:00 - 09:00 15 09:00 - 15:00 20 15:00 - 16:00 15 16:00 - 16:36 12 16:36 - 17:15 13 17:28 *, 17:41 * 17:54, 18:07 18:20 * 18:35 - 20:20 15 20:20 - 21:00 20 21:00 - 00:20 25 Saturdays 05:40 - 15:00 20 15:00 - 17:45 15 17:45 - 23:05 20 23:05 - 00:20 25 Sundays and Public Holidays 05:40 - 09:00 25 09:00 - 21:00 20 21:00 - 00:20 25 Remarks * Detours via Cheung Sha Wan Business Area.

From Laguna City Service hours Headways (mins) Mondays to Fridays 05:45 - 05:55 10 05:55 - 10:40 15 10:40 - 13:20 20 13:20 - 20:20 15 20:20 - 21:00 20 21:00 - 00:20 25 Saturdays 05:45 - 06:00 15 06:00 - 12:00 20 12:00 - 12:45 15 12:45 - 13:45 20 13:45 - 16:45 15 16:45 - 23:05 20 23:05 - 00:20 25 Sundays and Public Holidays 05:45 - 08:40 25 08:40 - 19:20 20 19:20 - 00:20 25

Detailed timetable
KMB Route 40/Detailed timetable

This route provides Estimated Time of Arrival enquiry Service.

Fares

Journey/Boarding stop	Air-conditioned fare
Full fare	$10.1
Section fares (to Laguna City)
From Mei Foo BBI	$7.4
Section fares (to Tsuen Wan)
From From Mei Foo BBI	$6.5
From Kin Ming Street Tsuen Wan	$4.6

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 can also pay their fares through a variety of electronic payment tools (e-payment system), including using contactless VISA, JCB Card, MasterCard, UnionPay, American Express, Discover Card, Diners Club International Credit Card, UnionPay Credit Card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay, AlipayHK "EasyGo" and UnionPay "QuickPass", BoC Pay "Ride Code" and WeChat Pay HK or WeChat "Ride Code". Passengers using this payment method are not eligible for the interchange concessions with non-KMB/LWB routes, nor are they eligible for the "Public Transport Fare Subsidy Scheme" and "Public Transport Fare Concession Scheme for the Elderly and Eligible Persons with Disabilities".

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:KMB Route 40 Interchange Concession Scheme

Mei Foo BBI Interchange Concessions

Template:Mei Foo BBI Interchange Concessions

LWB Airbus Routes and KMB Interchange Concessions

LWB Airport Routes, AsiaWorld-Expo Special Routes and KMB Interchange Concession Scheme
1st leg	Direction	2nd leg	Direction	Discount for 2nd leg	Time limit
X33, X36, X40, X43, X47	To Urban	KMB solely-operated routes	Unlimited	Positive difference between the fare payable for the 2nd leg minus the fare paid for the 1st leg Free if the difference is in negative number	150mins
A30, A31, A32, A33, A33X, A34, A36, A37, A38, A41, A41P, A42, A43, A43P *, A46, A47X					120mins
KMB Solely-operated routes	Any	A30, A31, A32, A33, A33X, A34, A36, A37, A38, A41, A41P, A42, A43, A43P *, A46, A47X	to Airport
Note: Passengers are required to use the same Octopus card/credit card or the same mobile payment tool account (KMB/LWB "e-payment system") to enjoy the interchange discount. Passengers can enjoy the above interchange discount at any bus stop where they can connect to a second route. KMB journeys are not applicable to tourist routes (i.e. R-tail routes), unconventional special routes, racecourse routes and MTR Feeder Bus routes. Passengers heading towards the urban area will not be able to enjoy the "Inter-route Interchange Discount" on the KMB route immediately after interchange after enjoying this interchange discount. Airport-bound passengers who enjoy the "KMB Inter-route Transfer Concession" between the first and second journeys may still enjoy the interchange discount on the third immediately following the LWB route A at $6.0 or the second KMB route minus the concession fare, whichever is lower; if the second KMB route is a free interchange (including free journeys with KMB Monthly Pass) or the first two journeys are both If the second KMB route is a free interchange (including free journeys with KMB Monthly Pass) or the first two journeys are both KMB routes with interchange concessions, the interchange concession will not be offered. Routes R8, S64 series, Long Win Bus Lantau Link BBI, Tuen Mun Chek Lap Kok Tunnel bus routes and all interchange schemes with other companies cannot be used consecutively with this interchange concession. 50% discount for children under 12 years old; for passengers benefiting from the Public Transport Fare Concession Scheme for the Elderly and Eligible Persons with Disabilities when interchanging from LWB A Routes to KMB, the KMB one-way fare is the lower of the discounted concessionary fare (or 50% discount in the case of elderly or eligible persons with disabilities under 12 years old) and $2.0, therefore some interchange combinations may not be available. When interchanging from KMB to LWB A Routes, passengers may get back the actual fare paid for the first journey (i.e. the lower of the original fare (50% discount for elderly or eligible persons with disabilities under 12 years old) and $2.0). ＊: For interchanging from KMB Route B1 (Tin Tsz direction) to LWB Route A43P ( Airport direction), the actual fare paid for the first journey will be refunded for the next journey, except that the interchange concession cannot be enjoyed for the first journey of Route B1, otherwise, only the normal (i.e. maximum $6.0) interchange concession will be offered; for interchange from LWB Route A43P (Luen Wo Hui direction) to KMB Route B1 (Lok Ma Chau direction), passengers will be offered a free interchange concession for the second journey, but no interchange discount will be offered for the first journey of route A43P and no other interchange concession will be offered for route B1 thereafter. This special concession is not applicable to other LWB A routes (including Routes A36, A37 and A43). Edit

KMB and Sun Bus Interchange Concessions

Route information for KMB - Sun Bus Interchange Discount Scheme
1st leg route	Origin	2nd leg route	Destination	Discounted amount for 2nd leg	Time limit
30X, 33, 33A, 33B, 40, 40P, 43P, 43X, 46S, 48X, 49X, 58M, 58P, 59M, 60M, 61M, 66M, 67M, 68A, 68M, 69M, 69P, 73D, 73P, 73X, 230X, 234D, 234P, 234X, 265M, 268M, 269A, 269M, 273C, 273P, 278A, 278P, 278X, 290, 290A, 290E, 290X, 934, 934A	No restriction	NR331, NR331S	To Ma Wan	Adult/Student Octopus: $4.0 Child Octopus: $2.0	120mins
NR331, NR331S	From Ma Wan	30X, 33, 33A, 33B, 40, 40P, 43P, 43X, 46S, 48X, 49X, 58M, 58P, 59M, 60M, 61M, 66M, 67M, 68A, 68M, 69M, 69P, 73D, 73P, 73X, 230X, 234D, 234P, 234X, 265M, 268M, 269A, 269M, 273C, 273P, 278A, 278P, 278X, 290, 290A, 290E, 290X, 934, 934A	No restriction		60mins
Remarks: Passengers must use the same Octopus card to enjoy the above interchange concessions. Once a passenger has paid for the first journey with his/her Octopus card, he/she must use the same Octopus card to pay for the second journey within a limited period of time. To enjoy the concession, passengers must have a positive balance on their Octopus cards after paying the first journey fare. The interchange discount is not applicable to passengers who are already enjoying the Public Transport Fare Concession Scheme for the Elderly and Eligible Persons with Disabilities. Passengers cannot use their Octopus to pay for other modes of transport before boarding the second leg. Passengers' Octopus cards must not be used for more than 9 transactions between interchanges on the designated KMB routes or the designated Sun Bus routes, otherwise the concession will be invalidated. This interchange concession can be used in conjunction with the resident concession. This scheme is effective from 1 March 2021 onwards. For details, see article "KMB - Sun Bus Interchange Discount Scheme" or the promotional information on KMB website. Edit

Bus deployments

Template:List of buses on KMB Routes 40 and 40P

Bus deployment evolution history

Bus deployment evolution history of KMB Route 40

From the late 1970s to the mid 1980s, Route 40 was mainly served by Daimler Fleetline (D, including the BACO-bodied demonstrator D815), and occasionally by Leyland Victory J (G1-G4), which was replaced by MCW Metrobus9.7m (M) in 1985, and Dennis Jubilant (N, with Duple Metsec-bodied body, operated by Kowloon Bay Depot (K))) in 1986-1987, and 11-metre tri-axle buses in 1987, mainly with Denise Dragon (S3N, D-branded Gina engine). In 1987, 11-metre tri-axle buses were added to the fleet, with Dennis Dragon (S3N, D brand Gardner engine) as the main vehicle. In 1995, air-conditioned bus service was added with the addition of Dennis Dragon 11m (AD), whereas Volvo Olympian 11m (AV, withdrawn) joined in 1999; in 2003 low-floor service was added with the addition of Enviro500 12m (ATE). The demonstrator bus AL1 (DX2437) also ran on this route from time to time before its retirement. In 2009, Lai Chi Kok Depot (L) and Kowloon Bay Depot (K) once deployed 17-year-old buses, mainly Leyland Olympian 11m (AL) and Dennis Dragon (AD, including AD41/EX2369), to serve this route, turning it into a retirement route, which was reverted to its original form by the two depots' service deployment in 2010. As of 2010, there were still two non-air-conditioned buses on this route (Dennis Dragon 11m S3N278/FX7816 and S3N308/FY3674). The latter was redeployed to Route 2E at the end of the same year due to operations adjustment. After the retirement of the former in 2011, the running orders were left vacant for a while until it was replaced by two buses of the same type (non-air-conditioned bus S3N365/GA5685 and air-conditioned bus AD261/GR5292, which were draped with advertisements of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)) on 15 March and 11 July of the same year respectively. As the latter are air-conditioned buses, this is a disguised enhancement of air-conditioned bus services. On 26 March 2012, the only remaining non-air-conditioned bus (S3N365/GA5685) was replaced by the same bus (S3N354/GA2387) wearing the "StarBus" advertisement. On 7 May 2012, this route was converted to a fully air-conditioned service and the only remaining non-air-conditioned bus (S3N354) was replaced by an air-conditioned bus (AD187/GJ6209) of the same model. After the full air-conditioning, this route was served by Enviro500 12m (ATE, redeployed) straight-staircase buses, which were also later added to replace Dennis Trident 12m (ATR), originally from Long Win Bus fleet, and was fully low-floorised in 2014.At one point in 2016, the running order for split shift was reassigned to Enviro500 MMC 12m (ATENU), which was then knocked back to its original form. In January 2017, Lai Chi Kok Depot (Tsing Yi Sub-depot) (L) re-introduced Enviro500 MMC 12m (ATENU) to the route, and in January of the following year, two additional vehicles were added due to the extension of the route. In August of the same year, the depot's entire route assignment was changed to the Enviro500 MMC, and in December of the same year, a further Heartbeat of The City-painted Volvo B9TL (AVBWU, reintroduced in June 2022, to be withdrawn again four months later, and reintroduced again in March 2024) was added to allow order shifts to operate the newly-commenced Route 40A. In July 2018, all vehicles at Lai Chi Kok Depot (Tsing Yi Sub-depot) (L) were converted to Enviro500 MMCs with Facelift bodywork; at the same time, buses from Kowloon Bay Depot (K) was added to the route, leaving only one Dennis Trident 12m (ATR) on the route. In November of the same year, vehicle dispatchment on the route was changed to Lai Chi Kok Depot (Tsing Yi Sub-depot) (L) and Lai Chi Kok Depot (L), with all models running on the route being the {{KLFN}ATENU}}. In December 2020, Enviro500 12m (ATE) was re-introduced on this route, and by June 2021, this deployment was restored. In June 2022, Scania K280UD 12m (ASUD) was introduced to this route and was withdrawn in October of the same year.

Routing

To Laguna City

To Laguna City: The distance of this route is approx. 24.0km, and the journey time is approximately 95mins. (The average speed is 15.2km/h.)

Routing	Roads observed
① Regular	Hoi On Road, Lai Shun Road, Castle Peak Road - Tsuen Wan, Tai Chung Road, Sha Tsui Road, Tai Ho Road, Castle Peak Road - Tsuen Wan, Castle Peak Road - Kwai Chung, Kwai Chung Road, Cheung Sha Wan Road, Castle Peak Road, Ching Cheung Road, Lung Cheung Road, Tai Hom Road, Lung Cheung Road, flyover, Kwun Tong Road, Hoi Yuen Road, Wai Yip Street, Cha Kwo Ling Road and Yau Hong Street
② * Weekday evening special trips detouring via Cheung Sha Wan Business Area	......, Kwai Chung Road, Cheung Sha Wan Road,Butterfly Valley Road, Lai Chi Kok Road, Cheung Mau Street, Cheung Shun Street, Cheung Lai Street, Cheung Sha Wan Road, Castle Peak Road, Ching Cheung Road, ......

Kowloon Motor Bus Route 40 (Tsuen Wan (Belvedere Garden) → Laguna City)
No.	Area	Road	Bus stop name	Remarks
1	Tsuen Wan West	Hoi On Road	Tsuen Wan (Belvedere Garden)
2		Castle Peak Road - Tsuen Wan	Belvedere Garden Phase 3
3			Belvedere Garden Phase 1
4	Tsuen Wan (Chai Wan Kok)		Tsuen King Circuit Flyover
5	Tsuen Wan Town Centre	Tai Chung Road	Fuk Loi Estate Tai Chung Road
6		Sha Tsui Road	Moon Lok Dai Ha
7		Tai Ho Road	Tai Ho Road Tsuen Wan
8		Castle Peak Road - Tsuen Wan	Chung On Street Tsuen Wan
9	Tai Wo Hau		Tai Wo Hau BBI - Tai Wo Hau Station (A1)
10	Sheung Kwai Chung	Castle Peak Road - Kwai Chung	Cheung Wing Road Gyratory
11	Kwai Hing	Kwai Chung Road	Kwai Chun Court
12			Sun Kwai Hing Gardens
13	Kwai Fong		Kwai Fong Estate
14	Kwai Chung (Container Terminals)		Lai King Estate Kwai Chung Road
15	Lai Chi Kok	Cheung Sha Wan Road	Mei Foo BBI (C1)	Section fare begins here
*	Cheung Sha Wan	Cheung Sha Wan Road	Cheung Lai Street Cheung Sha Wan (X45)	Applicable to trips using routing ②
16	Lai Chi Kok	Castle Peak Road	Jao Tsung-I Academy
Ching Cheung Road
17	Tai Wo Ping	Lung Cheung Road	Beacon Heights
18			Phoenix House
19	Wang Tau Hom		Tin Ma Court
20	Wong Tai Sin		Lung Cheung Government Secondary School
21			Wong Tai Sin BBI - Wong Tai Sin Temple (B4)
22			Wong Tai Sin BBI - Shatin Pass Road (A1)
23	Diamond Hill	Tai Hom Road	Diamond Hill Station
24	Ngau Chi Wan	Lung Cheung Road	Ngau Chi Wan BBI - Ngau Chi Wan Village (G1)
25	Ngau Tau Kok	Kwun Tong Road	Kowloon Bay Station
26			Lower Ngau Tau Kok Estate
27			Kwun Tong Road Sitting-out Area
28	Kwun Tong Town Centre		Ngau Tau Kok Station (V5)
29			Kwun Tong BBI - Kwun Tong Town Centre (T6)
30	Kwun Tong Business Area	Hoi Yuen Road	Hoi Yuen Road Kwun Tong
31	Sai Tso Wan	Wai Yip Street	Wai Yip Street Kwun Tong
32		Cha Kwo Ling Road	Laguna Plaza
33			Laguna Arcade
34			Laguna City Bus Terminus

To Tsuen Wan (Belvedere Garden)

• AM: The distance of this route is approx. 24.9km, and the journey time is approximately 85mins. (The average speed is 17.6km/h.)
• PM: The distance of this route is approx. 24.9km, and the journey time is approximately 99mins. (The average speed is 15.1km/h.)

Via: Cha Kwo Ling Road, Wai Yip Street, Kwun Tong Ferry Pier Access, Kwun Tong Ferry Bus Terminus, Wai Yip Street, King Yip Street, Shing Yip Street, Cha Kwo Ling Road, Lei Yue Mun Road, Kwun Tong Road, flyover, Lung Cheung Road, Ching Cheung Road, Butterfly Valley Road, Lai Chi Kok Road, Cheung Mau Street, Cheung Shun Street, Cheung Lai Street, Cheung Sha Wan Road, Lai Chi Kok Road, Kwai Chung Road, Castle Peak Road - Kwai Chung, Castle Peak Road - Tsuen Wan, Hoi Hing Road and Hoi On Road

Kowloon Motor Bus Route 40 (Laguna City → Tsuen Wan (Belvedere Garden))
No.	Area	Road	Bus stop name	Remarks
1	Sai Tso Wan		Laguna City Bus Terminus
2		Cha Kwo Ling Road	Laguna Plaza
3		Wai Yip Street	Wai Yip Street Kwun Tong
4	Kwun Tong Business Area		Kwun Tong Ferry
5		King Yip Street	King Yip Street
6		Cha Kwo Ling Road	Shing Yip Street Rest Garden
7		Kwun Tong Road	Tsun Yip Lane Kwun Tong (C6)
8			Kwun Tong BBI - Millenium City (B2)
9	Ngau Tau Kok		Ting Fu Street Kwun Tong
10			Lower Ngau Tau Kok Estate
11	Kowloon Bay		Telford Gardens
12			Kowloon Bay Station
13			Kai Yip Estate
14	Choi Hung	Lung Cheung Road	Ngau Chi Wan BBI - Hung Ngok House (H2)
15	Diamond Hill		Diamond Hill Station
16	Wong Tai Sin		Wong Tai Sin BBI - Wong Tai Sin Temple (D2)
17			Morse Park Swimming Pool
18	Wang Tau Hom		Wing Kwong College
19	Tai Wo Ping		Phoenix House
20			Beacon Heights
Ching Cheung Road
21	Cheung Sha Wan	Butterfly Valley Road	Kom Tsun Street
22		Cheung Sha Wan Road	Cheung Lai Street Cheung Sha Wan (X46)
23	Lai Chi Kok	Lai Chi Kok Road	Mei Foo BBI (A2)	Section fare begins here
24	Kwai Chung (Container Terminals)	Kwai Chung Road	Kwai Chung Interchange
25			Lai King Estate Kwai Chung Road
26	Kwai Fong		Kwai Fong Plaza
27	Kwai Hing		Kwong Fai Circuit
28		Castle Peak Road - Kwai Chung	Kin Chuen Street Kwai Chung
29	Tai Wo Hau		Tai Wo Hau BBI - Tai Wo Hau Station (B2)
30	Tsuen Wan Town Centre	Castle Peak Road - Tsuen Wan	Chung On Street Tsuen Wan
31			Kin Ming Street Tsuen Wan	Section fare begins here
32			Wing Hong House Fuk Loi Estate
33	Tsuen Wan (Chai Wan Kok)		Tsuen King Circuit Flyover
34			Chai Wan Kok Street Tsuen Wan
35	Tsuen Wan West	Hoi On Road	Tsuen Wan (Belvedere Garden)

Ridership

In the past, Route 40 ran through Sham Shui Po, Shek Kip Mei, etc., and travelling between Tsuen Wan, Kwai Chung and Kwun Tong was not as convenient as Routes 38, 42C and the Kwun Tsuen Route, and it overlapped with Route 6D along the way. After the service transformation at the end of the summer holidays in 2013, this route was changed to provide express service to Tsuen-Kwai, Mei Foo and East Kowloon, and the number of passengers coming from the industrial areas along Kwai Chung Road during peak hours increased significantly, which necessitated the introduction of Route 40A to divert the flow of passengers. However, nearly one and a half years after the conversion, Route 290 series was introduced, so that passengers travelling between Tsuen-Kwai and Wong Tai Sin and Choi Hung do not need to detour via Mei Foo, which is faster than this route.

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

• 2012: The average daily patronage was 10,500, with a peak hourly occupancy rate of 78%, a maximum off-peak hourly occupancy rate of about 55%, and average weekday off-peak occupancy rates of 44% (Laguna City-bound) and 29% (Tsuen Wan-bound); about 2,100 passengers travelled between Tsuen Wan and Mei Foo and East Kowloon.
• 2015: After the diversion, the peakiest hourly patronage rate was 83% and the average off-peak patronage rate was 25%.
• 2016: The peakiest hourly patronage rate was 70%.
• 2017: A site inspection of the Kowloon-bound service was conducted at Fuk Loi Estate Tai Chung Road from 8 to 12 November. The overall arrival and departure occupancy rate during the weekday peak hours was below 40% and the existing frequency service was considered to be able to meet passenger demand.

Related incidents

Gallery

Remarks

Related articles

KMB Route 2A KMB Route 6D KMB Route 33 KMB Route 33B KMB Route 38 KMB Route 38P KMB Route 40A KMB Route 40B

KMB Route 40M (1st generation) (Cancelled) KMB Route 40P KMB Route 42C KMB Route 234C KMB Route 234D KMB Route 290E PLB Kwun Tong - Tsuen Wan Route

References

External links

• KMB Official Route Information: 40 (Timetable approved by Transport Department)