KMB Route 96

Route 96 observes Lam Tin Interchange
Route information
Terminus	Hong Sing Garden ↔ Tai Po Industrial Estate ●
via	Po Lam, Hang Hau, Tseung Kwan O Town Centre, Laguna City, Ma Liu Shui, Pak Shek Kok, Wan Tau Tong, Tai Po Central, Tai Wo
Distance	To Tai Po Industrial Estate: 39.7km To Hong Sing Garden: 39.6km
Travelling time	103mins
Commencement date	12 December 2022
Operational information
Current operator	KMB
Current depot	Kowloon Bay Depot (K), Sha Tin Depot (Tai Po Sub-depot) (S)
Main Vehicle	V6B
Fare information
Full fare	$10.3
No. of section fare(s)	3
Service hours
Service date(s)	Monday to Friday (except public holidays)
Origin service time	Weekdays: 06:30 - 08:00, 17:45 - 18:15 Holidays: 09:00 - 18:30
Destination service time	Weekdays: 07:15 - 07:45, 17:25 - 18:15 Holidays: 09:00 - 18:30
Headway	15-30mins
Special trip(s)	Park Central ↔ Tai Po Industrial Estate ●

The New Territories Bus Route 96 is operated by Kowloon Motor Bus. It runs between Hong Sing Garden and Tai Po Industrial Estate, via Po Lam, Hang Hau, Tseung Kwan O Town Centre, Laguna City, Ma Liu Shui, Pak Shek Kok, Wan Tau Tong, Tai Po Central and Tai Wo and takes Tseung Lam Highway, Kwun Tong Bypass, Tate's Cairn Tunnel and Tolo Highway.

History

The Transport Department has proposed in the 2021-2022 Bus Route Planning Programme to operate a new service between Hong Sing Garden and Tai Po Industrial Estate via Tseung Kwan O - Lam Tin Tunnel and Hong Kong Science Park, with two trips in each direction during the morning and afternoon peak hours from Monday to Friday. The route's operator would be chosen through a open tender process, and is expected to commence service in conjunction with the opening of the Tseung Kwan O-Lam Tin Tunnel.

After an open tender process, the Transport Department revealed in June 2022 that KMB had won the right to operate this route. On 15 November of the same year, the authorities announced that the Tseung Kwan O-Lam Tin Tunnel and the Tseung Kwan O Cross Bay Link would be officially opened to traffic from 11 December of the same year, and the Transport Department also published the Franchised Bus Service Arrangements to tie in with the Opening of Tseung Kwan O-Lam Tin Tunnel and Tseung Kwan O Cross Bay Link, proposing that on the day following the opening of the route (12 December), five new bus routes will be introduced between Tseung Kwan O and Tseung Kwan O via the Tseung Kwan O - Lam Tin Tunnel, of which the above-mentioned tender route was one of them and numbered 96.

Route change history

• 12 December 2022: Route 96 commenced service.
• 29 April 2023:
  • Departures from Hong Sing Garden on Mondays to Fridays were increased to 7, departing at 06:30, 07:00, 07:20, 07:40, 08:00, 17:45 and 18:15;
  • Departures at 17:25 and 18:00 on Mondays to Fridays from Tai Po Industrial Estate were introduced;
  • New services were introduced on Saturdays, Sundays and Public Holidays, with service hours from Hong Sing Garden and Tai Po Industrial Estate being 08:00-18:30.
• 2 January 2024: A new stop was added at "Cha Kwo Ling Road" on Cha Kwo Ling Road for Tai Po Industrial Estate direction.
• 6 January 2024: The first bus time was advanced to 08:35 from Hong Sing Garden on Saturdays, Sundays and Public Holidays.
• 19 September 2024: A new special departure at 17:45 from Park Central to Tai Po Industrial Estate was introduced, and the last bus from Tai Po Industrial Estate on Mondays to Fridays was delayed by 5 minutes.
• 17 February 2025: All morning trips from Tai Po Industrial Estate on Mondays to Fridays were advanced by 5 minutes.
• 1 March 2025: Interchange concession with Route 272A was introduced.
• 29 September 2025: Detoured via Yan King Road for both directions with a new stop on the road, and the original stops at "TKO Jockey Club Clinic" (Tai Po Industrial Estate direction)/"Yan Ming Court" (Hong Sing Garden direction) on Po Lam Road North were cancelled.

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 2/2025, please refer to the link below for the official route information.

From Hong Sing Garden Service hours Headways (mins) Mondays to Fridays 06:30 - 07:00 30 07:00 - 08:00 20 17:45 - 18:15 30 Saturdays, Sundays and Public Holidays 08:35 - 16:50 45 16:50 - 18:30 50

From Tai Po Industrial Estate Service hours Headways (mins) Mondays to Fridays 07:05 - 07:35 30 17:25 - 17:45 20 17:45 - 18:00 15 18:00 - 18:20 20 Saturdays, Sundays and Public Holidays 09:00 - 16:30 45 16:30 - 18:30 40

Detailed timetable
KMB Route 96/Detailed timetable

Special service

Park Central ↔ Tai Po Industrial Estate ●
Mondays to Fridays
17:45
No service on Saturdays, Sundays and Public Holidays

This route provides Estimated Time of Arrival enquiry Service.

Fares

Journey/Boarding Stop	Air-conditioned Fares
Full Fares	$10.3
Section fares (to Tai Po Industrial Estate)
From Tseung Kwan O - Lam Tin Tunnel BBI	$9.8
From Ma Liu Shui Public Pier	$9.1
From Wan Hang House Wan Tau Tong Estate	$5.4
Section fares (to Hong Sing Garden)
From Pak Shek Kok Substation	$9.8
From Tate's Cairn Tunnel	$8.1
From Park Central	$5.8

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". Passengers may purchase 10 single journey tickets of this route at Sha Tin Central Bus TerminusCustomer Service Centre at a 10% discount and the tickets are valid for three months. For every two adult fare-paying passengers, one child under 12 years old or elderly aged 65 or above can travel free of charge. Passengers travelling with an eligible person with a disability can enjoy half-fare concession when paying in cash.

Bus-Bus Interchange Concessions

Passengers using the same Octopus card or account of the same electronic payment instrument 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.The interchange concession of e-payment system is only applicable to the interchange between KMB or Long Win Bus departures on other routes) Template:KMB Rout 96 Interchange Concession Scheme

TKO-Lam Tin Tunnel BBI Interchange Scheme

Route Information for TKO-Lam Tin Tunnel BBI Interchange Scheme
1st leg	2nd leg	Direction	Concessionary Fare
KMB
96, 290E, 298X		Kowloon/Tsuen Wan/Tai Po Direction	Pay the positive difference of the 2nd leg at the interchange (if zero or negative, it is a free transfer)
NWFB
790, 795		Kowloon direction	Pay the positive difference of the 2nd leg at the interchange (if zero or negative, it is a free transfer)
Note: Passengers must use the same Octopus Card, the same credit card or the same mobile payment instrument account within the specified time limit to enjoy the above interchange offers. The specified time limits are as follows: The above interchange discount is not applicable to interchange between bus routes of the same route and different operators. For passengers who benefit from the Public Transport Fare Concession Scheme for the Elderly and Eligible Persons with Disabilities, the second journey fare will be the lower of the above second journey concessionary fare (or 50% discount in the case of elderly aged 65 and above or eligible persons with disabilities aged below 12) and $2.0, therefore some interchange combinations may not have interchange discounts. For passengers who wish to make interchange to Tseung Kwan O, please use the "Wai Lok Street" bus stop. Official sites: KMB NWFB Edit

Tate's Cairn Tunnel BBI Interchange Scheme

Template:Tate's Cairn Tunnel BBI Interchange Scheme

LWB A Routes and KMB Interchange Concession Scheme

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

Interchange concessions with GMB routes

Route Information for KMB Routes 90, 96, 97 and GMB Interchange Scheme
1st leg	2nd leg	Discount for 2nd leg	Time Limit
90	808, 808P	Adult: $1.0 Child: 50¢	150mins
808, 808P	90
96	28K, 28S, 101M, 102, 102B, 102S、111, 113
28K, 28S, 101M, 102, 102B, 102S, 111、113	96
97	101M, 102, 102B, 102S, 111,113、807A, 807B, 807C, 807K, 807S, 807X, 808、808P
101M, 102, 102B, 102S, 111, 113, 807A、807B, 807C, 807K, 807S, 807X, 809K	97
Notes: Passengers are required to use the same Octopus card to enjoy the above interchange concession. Passengers can enjoy the above interchange discount at any bus stop/minibus stop where they can connect to a second route. Edit

"Ride 10 Get One Free" Concession Scheme

Passengers can purchase 10 single journey tickets of Route 96 at a 10% discount. In addition, passengers who pay the full fare for 10 journeys on this route within the same week (Monday to Friday) with the same adult or student Octopus card can redeem a free single journey ticket within a specified period. Purchase or redemption can be made at Sha Tin Central Bus Terminus, Customer Service Centre and the applicable redemption dates can be found at Passenger Notice issued by KMB.

Bus deployments

A total of 6 Volvo B8L 12m (V6B) double-decker buses are assigned to this route as scheduled buses. Some of the buses may be dispatched away to routes 72K, 74X and 88 outside of service hours, with orders coming from routes 92 and 290E; Enviro500 MMC 11.3m (E6M) may also occasionally run this route as a special sight.

List of buses on Route 96
Fleet no.	Plate no.	Depot
V6B171	XE2394	Sha Tin Depot (Tai Po Sub-depot) (S)
V6B177	XE2254
V6B184	XG2409	Kowloon Bay Depot (K)
V6B193	XL3342
V6B194	XL4432
V6B200	XL5077

The above list of scheduled buses are as of December 2023, 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.3223

Routing

To Tai Po Industrial Estate

To Tai Po Industrial Estate: The distance of this route is approx. 39.7km, and the journey time is approximately 103mins. (The average speed is 23.1km/h.)

Via: Lam Shing Road, Po Lam Road North, Po Fung Road, Yan King Road, Kai King Road, Po Lam Road North, Po Ning Road, Sheung Ning Road, Chung Wah Road, Pui Shing Road, Ngan O Road, Chiu Shun Road, Po Yap Road, Tseung Kwan O Highway, Lam Tin Interchange, Cha Kwo Ling Road, Wai Yip Street, Kwun Tong Bypass, Tate's Cairn Tunnel, Tate's Cairn Highway, Chong San Road, Chak Cheung Street, Science Park Road, Chong San Road, Tolo Highway, Tat Wan Road, Nam Wan Road, Tai Po Tai Wo Road, Ting Tai Road, Ting Kok Road, Dai Fat Street and Dai Cheong Street

KMB Route 96 (Hong Sing Garden → Tai Po Industrial Estate)
No.	Area	Road	Bus stop name	Remarks
1	Tseung Kwan O (Tsui Lam)		Hong Sing Garden Bus Terminus
2		Po Lam Road North	Hong Sing Garden	Compulsory stop
3			Tsui Lam Estate
4	Tseung Kwan O (Po Lam)		Po Lam Fire Station
5			Ying Ming Court
6		Yan King Road	Yan King Road
7		Po Lam Road North	King Lam Estate
8	Tseung Kwan O (Hang Hau)	Po Ning Road	Hau Tak Estate
9		Chung Wa Road	Chung Wa Road
10		Ngan O Road	Yuk Ming Court
11	Tseung Kwan O Town Centre	Po Yap Road	Bauhinia Garden
12			Tseung Kwan O Station
13			Park Central	Special trip begins here
Tseung Kwan O － Lam Tin Tunnel
14	Cha Kwo Ling	Lam Tin Interchange	Tseung Kwan O - Lam Tin Tunnel BBI (A1)	Section fare begins here
15		Cha Kwo Ling Road	Cha Kwo Ling Road
16	Sai Tso Wan (Laguna City)	Wai Yip Street	Wai Lok Street Kwun Tong
Kwun Tong Bypass, Tate's Cairn Tunnel
17	Sha Tin (Siu Lek Yuen)		Tate's Cairn Tunnel (B1)	Interchange stop for Tate's Cairn Tunnel Bus Routes
Tate's Cairn Highway
18	Ma Liu Shui	Science Park Road	Ma Liu Shui Public Pier	Section fare begins here
19			Water Sports Centre
20			The Hong Kong Institute of Biotechnology
21	Pak Shek Kok	Chong San Road	Science Park (Phase 1)
22			Fo Yin Road
23			St. Martin
24			Pak Shek Kok
25			Pak Shek Kok Substation
Tolo Highway
26	Tai Po (Wan Tau Tong)	Tat Wan Road	Wan Hang House Wan Tau Tong Estate	Section fare begins here
27		Nam Wan Road	Uptown Plaza
28	Tai Po Market		Kwong Fuk Playground
29			Lam Tsuen River
30	Tai Po Centre	Tai Po Tai Wo Road	Tai Po Mega Mall
31	Tai Po (Tai Wo)		Tai Wo Estate
32	Tai Po Old Market	Ting Tai Road	Tai Po Public Swimming Pool
33	Tai Po (Fu Heng)	Ting Kok Road	Tai Ping Industrial Centre
34			Fu Heng Estate
35	Tai Po (Fu Shin)		Yee Nga Court
36			Yue Kok
37	Tai Po Industrial Estate		Fung Yuen Road
38		Dai Fat Street	Dai Fat Street Tai Po
39		Dai Cheong Street	Dai Cheong Street Tai Po
40			Tai Po Industrial Estate

To Hong Sing Garden

To Hong Sing Garden: The distance of this route is approx. 39.6km, and the journey time is approximately 103mins. (The average speed is 23.1km/h.)

Via: Dai Kwai Street, Ting Kok Road, Ting Tai Road, Tai Po Tai Wo Road, Nam Wan Road, Tat Wan Road, Tolo Highway, Chong San Road, Science Park Road, Shui Cheung Street, Tate's Cairn Highway, Tate's Cairn Tunnel, Kwun Tong Bypass, Wai Yip Street, Cha Kwo Ling Road Road, Lam Tin Interchange, Tseung Kwan O Highway, Po Yap Road, Chiu Shun Road, Ngan O Road, Pui Shing Road, Sheung Ning Road, Po Ning Road, Po Lam Road North, Kai King Road, Yan King Road, Po Fung Road, Po Lam Road North and Lam Shing Road

KMB Route 96 (Tai Po Industrial Estate → Hong Sing Garden)
No.	Area	Road	Bus stop name	Remarks
1	Tai Po Industrial Estate		Tai Po Industrial Estate
2		Dai Kwai Street	Dai Kwai Street Tai Po
3		Ting Kok Road	Tai Po Industrial Estate
4			Ha Hang
5			Dai Fat Street Tai Po
6	Tai Po (Fu Shin)		Yue Kok
7			Kau Yan College
8			Yee Nga Court
9	Tai Po Centre		Tai Yuen Estate
10			Immanuel Lutheran College
11	Tai Po Old Market	Tai Po Tai Wo Road	Greenery Plaza
12	Tai Po Centre		Tai Po Mega Mall
13	Tai Po (Yuen Chau Tsai)	Nam Wan Road	Kwong Chi House Kwong Fuk Estate
14			Kwong Fuk Playground
15	Tai Po (Wan Tau Tong)		Wan Tau Tong Estate
16		Tat Wan Road	Wan Hang House Wan Tau Tong Estate
Tolo Highway
17	Pak Shek Kok	Chong San Road	Pak Shek Kok Substation	Section fare begins here
18			Providence Bay
19			St. Martin
20			Chong San Road
21			Fo Yin Road
22			Science Park (Phase 1)
23	Ma Liu Shui	Science Park Road	The Hong Kong Institute of Biotechnology
24			Water Sports Centre
25			Ma Liu Shui Public Pier
Tate's Cairn Highway
26	Sha Tin (Siu Lek Yuen)		Tate's Cairn Tunnel (B1)	Interchange stop for Tate's Cairn Tunnel Bus Routes
Tate's Cairn Tunnel, Kwun Tong Bypass
27	Sai Tso Wan (Laguna City)	Wai Yip Street	Wai Lok Street Kwun Tong
Tseung Kwan O - Lam Tin Tunnel
28	Tseung Kwan O Town Centre	Po Yap Road	Park Central	Section fare begins here
29			Tseung Kwan O Station
30			Tseung Kwan O Plaza
31	Tseung Kwan O (Hang Hau)	Ngan O Road	Ngan O Road
32		Pui Shing Road	Pui Shing Road
33		Po Ning Road	Hau Tak Estate
34	Tseung Kwan O (Po Lam)	Po Lam Road North	King Lam Estate
35		Yan King Road	Yan King Road
36		Po Lam Road North	Ying Ming Court
37			Po Yan House
38	Tseung Kwan O (Tsui Lam)		Tsui Lam Estate
39			Hong Sing Garden Bus Terminus

Ridership

Route 96 bypasses the congestion on Kwun Tong Road, and the full fare is more than half cheaper than that of the SP routes for Hong Kong Science Park. It has already attracted the choice of Tseung Kwan O residents since its inception and has become the most popular route among the five new routes to tie in with the commissioning of Tseung Lam Highway with additional services on weekends and public holidays introduced in less than half a year. After the relocation of the Immigration Headquarters to Po Yap Road, KMB piloted special trips to Tai Po from outside the headquarters, using the 20-minute express service to the Tate's Cairn Tunnel Tunnel as a selling point, which also attracted passengers there that led to the rapid regularisation of it.

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

• 2022: A field survey was conducted at Lam Tin Interchange and Wai Lok Street in the morning and evening hours in late December with the occupancy rate of the busiest hour is 65%.
• 2023:The occupancy rate of the departures of route 96 from Tseung Kwan O was relatively high, which was around 60%, while the occupancy rate of the departures from Tai Po was about 50%.
• 2024: The occupancy rate during the peakiest hour was 40% and that during the non-peak hours was 45%.
• 2025: The occupancy rate was 82% during the peakiest hour and about 40% towards Tai Po during the morning peak hours.

Problems

Following the launch of Route 96, which was well received, KMB applied to the Transport Department for service enhancement, considering the introduction of a whole-day service and the introduction of a direct express service to Tai Po without going through the Hong Kong Science Park. However, when weekend and holiday services were added to the route, the existing alignment was still adopted and was not favoured and DC members were of the view that as Route 96 serves Tai Po Industrial Estate and the Science Park, its positioning should be for commuters and it was difficult for them to understand the arrangement. KMB initially objected to the extension of the route to the Heung Yuen Wai Boundary Control Point because of the substantial increase in travel time, thereby affecting the operational efficiency of the route. However, after the meeting, KMB issued a letter of reply, claiming that the proposal was practicable and proposing to provide additional special trips directly to Heung Yuen Wai.

Gallery

Some buses on Route 96 has Tseung Lam Highway Express Routes advertisements affixed to it

Route 96 terminates at Tai Po Industrial Estate

E6T2 on Route 96 was entering Tseung Lam Highway

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

KMB Route 96 (Edit)

Remarks

Related articles

• Citybus Route SP6 (Cancelled)

References

External links

• KMB Official Route Information: 96 (Timetable approved by Transport Department)