The New Territories Special Bus Route (Overnight Service) N73 is operated by Kowloon Motor Bus (KMB). It runs between Lok Ma Chau[Remark 1] and Shatin Central, via Sheung Shui (Choi Yuen Estate), Fanling South (Pak Wo Road), Tai Wo Service Road West and Tai Po Market.
Route N73 runs between Sha Tin, Tai Po and North Districts, facilitating passengers to connect to Route N271 for travelling to and from urban Kowloon, and also facilitates cross-boundary passengers to transfer to the Huang Bus at the Lok Ma Chau Public Transport Interchange for travelling to and from Shenzhen via the Lok Ma Chau Control Point on Hong Kong side and the Huanggang Port on the Mainland side.
At one time, this route became the only double-digit numbered regular overnight route of KMB; however, the record only lasted for a year or so, and was broken by the routes N36 and N39 in late 2015.
History[]
In view of the low patronage of Route N76 running to and from Lok Ma Chau, with an average of only about two passengers per trip, TD and KMB proposed to merge the route into Route N270 through the North District "Area Approach" Bus Route Reorganisation (i.e. the 2013-2014 Bus Route Development Programme in the North District) on the grounds of optimising the use of resources, which would run between Lok Ma Chau and Tai Po Central, and take Fanling Highway to travel between North District and Tai Po. The Administration submitted a revised proposal on 8 July, proposing that the new route be routed via Tai Wo Service Road West with en-route stops along the way. The motion was passed by the Traffic and Transport Committee of the North District Council with 15 votes in favour of the motion and two votes against it.[1]
The new route numbered "N73" after the merger was originally scheduled to commence service on 7 September 2013, the day of implementation of the third phase of the North District "Area Approach" Bus Route Reorganisation[2]; it was not until 4 September that KMB's press release revealed that the implementation of the North District overnight route rationalisation plan was postponed[3], so that a decision could be made after consulting the views of the Sha Tin District Council (STDC) on 10 September.[4][5] In November, TD submitted a revised proposal to extend the route from Tai Po to Shatin Central, advance the last bus time from Sha Tin, and reduce the frequency from the original 20-minute intervals to 30-minute intervals.[6] According to press reports, the new routes would commence service on 23 November 2013. However, the North District Council objected to the proposal on the ground of frequency reduction and referred it to the Working Group on Bus Routes under TTC for follow-up.[7][8]
In the face of the strong views of the NDC on the frequency and location of the Lok Ma Chau Terminus, the new routes were confirmed to commence service in the evening on 14 January 2014 as scheduled. KMB gradually arranged for the posting of publicity leaflets at its stops along the route, and issued a press release on 15 January announcing the launch of the overnight Route N73 on 18 January.[9]
Operational history[]
- 18 January 2014: Route N73 entered service.[9][10]
- 17 May 2014: Procedures for interchange concessions were simplified for interchange concessions from other routes to this route with immediate fare deduction by tapping the Octopus card once when boarding.
- 27 June 2015: Estimated Time of Arrival Enquiry System was introduced to this route.[11]
- 7 February 2020: Temporarily omitted Lok Ma Chau Bus Terminus due to the closure of the Lok Ma Chau Control Point, with "Tai Tau Leng" stop on Po Shek Wu Road as the starting point and "Choi Ngan House Choi Po Court" stop on Po Shek Wu Road as the terminus until 6 February 2023.[12]
- 25 May 2020: A new stop was added at "Flora Plaza" on Pak Wo Road for Lok Ma Chau direction.[13]
- 14 October 2024: Interchange concession with Huang Bus was introduced.[14]
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 1/2014, please refer to the link below for the official route information.
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- This route provides Estimated Time of Arrival enquiry Service.
Fares[]
| Fare chart (to Shatin Central) | ||
|---|---|---|
Boarding stop \ Alighting stop |
Lok Ma Chau or after | Sheung Shui BBI - Sheung Shui Station or after |
| Sheung Shui BBI - Sheung Shui Station or before | $11.3 * | |
| Kwong Fuk Estate or before | $13.7 * | $13.0 * |
| Shatin Central or before | $22.6 | $13.7 |
| Fare chart (to Lok Ma Chau) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Boarding stop \ Alighting stop |
Shatin Central or after | Kwong Fuk Estate or after | Sheung Shui BBI - Sheung Shui Station or after |
| Sheung Shui BBI - Sheung Shui Station or before | $13.7 * | $11.1 * | |
| Lok Ma Chau or before | $22.6 | $13.7 | $11.3 |
| Fare Remarks |
|---|
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Bus-Bus Interchange Concessions[]
| Related interchange concessions of Route N73 (Lok Ma Chau → Shatin Central) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Interchanging from Route N73 (from Lok Ma Chau) to other routes | |||||
| 2nd leg route | Destination | Concession | Interchange location | Time limit | Remarks |
| 271S | Tai Wo | Total fare $22.6 for two journeys | Any bus stop that can connect to the second leg of the journey | 150mins | |
| N373 | Central (Macau Ferry) | 1st leg fare rebate | Sheung Shui Station | 120mins | |
| NA40 | HZMB Hong Kong Port | Shatin Central | |||
| NA47 | HZMB Hong Kong Port | Kwong Fuk Estate | |||
| W3 | West Kowloon Station | Free for 2nd leg | Any bus stop that can connect to the second leg of the journey | ||
| Related interchange concessions of Route N73 (Shatin Central → Lok Ma Chau) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Interchanging from Route N73 (from Shatin Central) to other routes | |||||
| 2nd leg route | Destination | Concession | Interchange location | Time limit | Remarks |
| 271S | Tai Wo | Total fare $22.6 for two journeys | Kwong Fuk Estate | 150mins | |
| W3 | West Kowloon Station | Free for 2nd leg | Any bus stop that can connect to the second leg of the journey | 120mins | |
| Interchanging from other routes to Route N73 (to Lok Ma Chau) | |||||
| 1st leg route | Origin | Concession | Interchange location | Time limit | Remarks |
| 178R | Wan Chai (HKCEC)/Central Ferry Piers → Fanling (Luen Wo Hui) | Free for 2nd leg | Any bus stop that can connect to the second leg of the journey | 150mins | |
| 271S | Hung Hom Station | Total fare $22.6 for two journeys | Tai Wo Bus Terminus | ||
| N373 | Central (Macau Ferry) | Free for 2nd leg | Sheung Shui Station | 120mins | |
| NA40 | HZMB Hong Kong Port | Shatin Central | |||
Interchange concessions with overnight routes[]
Template:Overnight routes N73 and N271 interchange concessions
LWB Airbus 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 | ||
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Note:
*: 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). | |||||
KMB/LWB and Huang Bus Interchange Concession Scheme[]
| Route informations of KMB/LWB and Huang Bus Interchange Concessions | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st leg route | Direction | 2nd leg route | Direction | Fare concession | Time limit |
| 76, 76K | Any | Huang Bus | To Shenzhen (Huanggang Port) | Total fare $10.0 for both trips | 60mins |
| 276B, A43P*, NA43* | 2nd leg free | ||||
| B1 | To Lok Ma Chau Station (Futian) | ||||
| N73 | To Lok Ma Chau | ||||
| N276# | |||||
| Huang Bus | To Hong Kong (Lok Ma Chau) | 76, 76K | Any | 120mins | |
| 276B, A43P*, NA43* | Fare reduction of $10.0 for 2nd leg | ||||
| B1* | To Tin Tsz/San Shui House | ||||
| N73* | To Shatin Central | ||||
| N276# | To Tin Tsz | ||||
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Points to note:
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Bus deployments[]
This route is served by a total of 11 double-decker buses deployed from Sha Tin Depot (Sheung Shui Sub-depot) (S), mainly being Enviro500 MMC 12m (ATENU), Volvo B9TL 12m (AVBWU), Enviro500 MMC 12m semi-luxury version (E5T), Enviro500 MMC 11.3m (E6M) and Volvo B8L 12m (V6B).
Besides, buses may be dispatched away to routes 270A, 270S and N78.
Routing[]
The distance of this route is approx. 30.0km, and the journey time is approximately 75mins. (The average speed is 24km/h.)
To Shatin Central[]
Via: Castle Peak Road - San Tin, San Tin Interchange, Fanling Highway, Po Shek Wu Road, Choi Yuen Road, Pak Wo Road, Wah Ming Road, Lui Ming Road, Wah Ming Bus Terminus, Lui Ming Road, Wai Ming Street, Pak Wo Road, Yat Ming Road, Wah Ming Road, Wo Hing Road, Tai Wo Service Road West, Tai Po Road - Tai Wo, Po Nga Road, Tai Wo Bus Terminus, Po Nga Road, Ting Kok Road, Tai Po Tai Wo Road, Po Heung Bridge, Po Heung Street, Kwong Fuk Road, Tai Po Road - Yuen Chau Tsai, Tolo Highway, Tai Po Road - Sha Tin, Sha Tin Road, Yuen Wo Road and Sha Tin Rural Committee Road
| Kowloon Motor Bus Route N73 (Lok Ma Chau → Shatin Central) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Area | Road | Bus stop name | Remarks |
| 1 | San Tin | San Tin Public Transport Interchange | ||
| 2 | Sheung Shui | Po Shek Wu Road | Tai Tau Leng | |
| 3 | Choi Yuen Road | Choi Pik House Choi Po Court | ||
| 4 | Sheung Shui BBI - Sheung Shui Station (D2) |
Section fare begins here Two-way section fare ends here | ||
| 5 | Pak Wo Road | Sheung Shui Government Secondary School | ||
| 6 | Fanling | Cheerful Park | ||
| 7 | Ka Shing Court | |||
| 8 | Kei San Secondary School | |||
| 9 | Fanling Station BBI - Fanling Station (D1) |
|||
| 10 | Fanling South | King Shing Court | ||
| 11 | Wah Sum Estate | |||
| 12 | Wah Ming BBI (C3) | |||
| 13 | Pak Wo Road | Yan Shing Court | ||
| 14 | Yat Ming Road | Dawning Views | ||
| 15 | Wo Hop Shek | Wo Hing Road | Wo Hing Tsuen | |
| 16 | Wo Hing Road Fanling | |||
| 17 | Tai Wo Service Road West | Ho Ka Yuen | ||
| 18 | Kau Lung Hang | Kau Lung Hang | ||
| 19 | Tai Po (Tai Wo) | Nam Wa Po | ||
| 20 | Tai Po (Lam Tsuen) | Tai Wo | ||
| 21 | Tai Hang | |||
| 22 | Chung Sam Wai | |||
| 23 | Wai Tau Tsuen | |||
| 24 | Tai Po Road - Tai Wo | Hong Lok Yuen | ||
| 25 | Tai Po Tau | Sam To Hang | ||
| 26 | Parc Versailles | |||
| 27 | Tai Po (Tai Wo Estate) | Tai Wo Station |
||
| 28 | Ting Kok Road | Tai Po Government Offices | ||
| 29 | Tai Po Old Market | Tai Po Tai Wo Road | Tai Po Old Market Park | |
| 30 | Tai Po Market | Kwong Fuk Road | Kwong Fuk Road BBI (Y2) | |
| 31 | Tai Po (Yuen Chau Tsai) | Tai Po Road - Yuen Chau Tsai | Kwong Fuk Estate | Two-way section fare ends here |
| 32 | Shatin Central | Yuen Wo Road | Wo Che Estate | |
| 33 | Lek Yuen Estate | |||
| 34 | Shatin Central Bus Terminus |
Designated interchange stop for Route N271 | ||
To Lok Ma Chau[]
Via: Sha Tin Centre Street, Wang Pok Street, Yuen Wo Road, Sha Tin Road, Tai Po Road - Sha Tin, Tolo Highway, Tai Po Road - Yuen Chau Tsai, Kwong Fuk Road, Po Heung Street, Po Heung Bridge, Tai Po Tai Wo Road, Ting Kok Road, Po Nga Road, Tai Po Road - Tai Wo, Lam Kam Road Interchange, Tai Wo Service Road West, Wo Hing Road, Lui Ming Road, Wah Ming Bus Terminus, Lui Ming Road, Wai Ming Street, Pak Wo Road, Yat Ming Road, Pak Wo Road, Chi Fuk Circuit, Pak Wo Road, Choi Yuen Road, Po Shek Wu Road, Fanling Highway, San Tin Interchange and Castle Peak Road - San Tin
| Kowloon Motor Bus Route N73 (Shatin Central → Lok Ma Chau) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Area | Road | Bus stop name | Remarks |
| 1 | Shatin Central | Shatin Central Bus Terminus |
Designated interchange stop for Route N271 | |
| 2 | Wang Pok Street | Lucky Plaza | ||
| 3 | Yuen Wo Road | Lek Yuen Estate | ||
| 4 | Wo Che Estate | |||
| 5 | Tai Po (Yuen Chau Tsai) | Tai Po Road - Yuen Chau Tsai | Kwong Fuk Estate | Section fare begins here |
| 6 | Tai Po Market | Kwong Fuk Road | Kwong Fuk Road BBI (A1) | |
| 7 | Po Heung Street | Kwong Fuk Road BBI - Po Heung Bridge (B4) | ||
| 8 | Tai Po Old Market | Tai Po Tai Wo Road | Lam Tsuen Riverside | |
| 9 | Tai Po (Tai Wo Estate) | Po Nga Road | Tai Wo Plaza |
|
| 10 | Tai Po Tau | Tai Po Road - Tai Wo | Parc Versailles | |
| 11 | Tai Po (Lam Tsuen) | Hong Lok Yuen | ||
| 12 | Tai Wo Service Road West | Wai Tau Tsuen | ||
| 13 | Tai Po (Tai Wo) | Chung Sam Wai | ||
| 14 | Tai Hang | |||
| 15 | Tai Wo | |||
| 16 | Nam Wa Po | |||
| 17 | Kau Lung Hang | |||
| 18 | Wo Hop Shek | Ho Ka Yuen | ||
| 19 | Wo Hop Shek New Village | |||
| 20 | Wo Hing Road | Wo Hing Tsuen | ||
| 21 | Fanling South | Wah Ming BBI (C2) | ||
| 22 | Pak Wo Road | Yan Shing Court | ||
| 23 | Yat Ming Road | Dawning Views | ||
| 24 | Pak Wo Road | Flora Plaza | ||
| 25 | Fanling | Fanling Station BBI - Fung Ying Seen Koon (D2) |
||
| 26 | Kei San Secondary School | |||
| 27 | Chi Fuk Circuit Fanling | |||
| 28 | Pak Wo Road | Ka Shing Court | ||
| 29 | Glamour Garden | |||
| 30 | Sheung Shui | Ng Uk Village | ||
| 31 | Choi Yuen Road | Sheung Shui BBI - Sheung Shui Station (C1) |
Section fare begins here Two-way section fare ends here | |
| 32 | Choi Pik House Choi Po Court | |||
| 33 | Po Shek Wu Road | Choi Ngan House Choi Po Court | ||
| 34 | San Tin | San Tin Public Transport Interchange | Interchange to Huang Bus for Huanggang Port | |
Related incidents[]
- 1 January 2018: At approximately 2:10am, when a Lok Ma Chau-bound Enviro500 MMC arrived at Sheung Shui Station to drop off passengers, the bus captain was required to call the radio station for assistance due to the chaos caused by a large number of passengers boarding the vehicle.[15][16]
- 1 January 2019: At around 2am, after the New Year's Eve countdown, many passengers waited at Sheung Shui Station for buses to the San Tin Transport Interchange, as the MTR's overnight service did not include Lo Wu Station and Lok Ma Chau Station. Due to the large number of people, during peak hours, over 1,000 passengers were waiting outside Sheung Shui Station, with many spilling onto the road, causing significant traffic congestion. Whenever a bus on this route stopped, it was immediately surrounded by the crowd, and police officers had to arrive on-site to assist in maintaining order.[17][18]
- 2 April 2023: At around midnight, an Enviro500 MMC heading towards Shatin Central was travelling along Kwong Fuk Road when it allegedly ran a red light at the intersection with Nam Wan Road, colliding with a taxi and pushing it several metres forward, leaving the taxi driver injured.[19]
Gallery[]

Remarks[]
- ↑ Displayed as "San Tin Huang Bus Terminus" (新田皇巴站) on the electronic destination sign.
Related articles[]
- KMB Route 73
- KMB Route 73A
- KMB Route N76 (Cancelled)
- KMB Route N270 (Cancelled)
References[]
- ↑ "北區區議會通過重組巴士路線" (North District Council passed motion to reorganise bus routes), Commercial Radio, 8 July 2013.
- ↑ The Kowloon Motor Bus Company (1933) Limited, "Phase 2 of Enhanced Bus Network of North District to be Implemented This Saturday" [News Release], 20 August 2013.
- ↑ The Kowloon Motor Bus Company (1933) Limited, "Phase 3 of Enhanced Bus Network of North District to be Implemented This Saturday" [News Release], 4 September 2013.
- ↑ "九巴87A號線及N270號線的重組建議" (Rationalisation suggestions for KMB Route Nos. 87A and N270), Sha Tin District Council Traffic and Transport Committee Paper TT66/2013.
- ↑ 九巴87A(287X)號線及N270號線的重組建議 (已加相關文件) (Rationalisation suggestions for KMB Routes 87A (287X) and N270), hkitalk.net
- ↑ "跟進北區巴士路線重組計劃的改善建議" (Follow-up on North District Bus Route Reorganisation), North District Council Traffic and Transport Committee Paper TT66/2013.
- ↑ "將軍澳692線過海巴月底取消" (TKO cross-harbour route 692 to cancel by the end of this month), Oriental Daily News, 9 November 2013.
- ↑ N73 方案不獲北區區議會通過 (Proposal for Route N73 vetoed by North District Council), hkitalk.net
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 The Kowloon Motor Bus Company (1933) Limited, "Introduction of Night Route N73" [News Release], 15 January 2014.
- ↑ Transport Department HKSARG, "Introduction of KMB Route No. N73 (Lok Ma Chau - Shatin Central)" [Traffic Advice], 21 January 2014.
- ↑ The Kowloon Motor Bus Company (1933) Limited, "Estimated Time of Arrival Enquiry service introduced to 146 routes covering more than half KMB and Long Win Routes" [News Release], 26 June 2015.
- ↑ The Kowloon Motor Bus Company (1933) Limited, "N73 Temporary Terminus Arrangement" [Passenger Notice], February 2020.
- ↑ The Kowloon Motor Bus Company (1933) Limited, "N73 Addition of Bus Stop" [Passenger Notice], May 2020.
- ↑ The Kowloon Motor Bus Company (1933) Limited, "KMB x Huang Bus roll out all-new Octopus interchange concession with offers up to one free trip on Huang Bus Huang Bus enhances service to run every 5 to 10 minutes throughout the day" [News Release], 10 October 2024.
- ↑ Post on Facebook group "香港突發事故報料區"
- ↑ Post on Facebook group "North District 北區"
- ↑ "【除夕逼爆上水】迎2019倒數後湧回內地 缺通宵巴千人困上水街頭" ([Crowding Sheung Shui on NYE] Crowds swerving back to Mainland after countdown, thousands stranded at Sheung Shui due to lack of overnight bus services), HK01, 1 January 2019.
- ↑ "煙花過後無車搭 內地人「佔領」馬路 旺角搭的去落馬洲 位位九百" (Mainlanders "occupy" roads due to lack of transportation after NYE fireworks; $900 each pax for taxi from Mong Kok to Lok Ma Chau), Apple Daily, 2 January 2019.
- ↑ "車Cam直擊|大埔九巴攔腰撞綠的再推前 目擊者驚叫:巴士佬衝燈喎" (Dashcam footage: KMB bus T-boned green taxi and pushed it foward at Tai Po; witnesses scream as bus blowed red light), HK01, 2 April 2023.
External links[]
Template:List of Overnight and Late Night Bus Routes| Bus routes terminating or turning back in Yuen Long District (shown below are destination districts) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Italic - service during specified days/periods only; → - Outbound service only; ← - Inbound service only | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bus routes terminating or turning back in Sha Tin District (shown below are destination districts) | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Shenzhen Ports | Sha Tau Kok Express | ||||||||||||||||||
| Shap Sze Heung, Hoi Ha Wan and Wong Shek Pier areas of Sai Kung North are all located in Tai Po District, please refer to the District Council constituency boundary map. Italic - service during specified days/periods only; → - Outbound service only; ← - Inbound service only; (#) - outbound terminus at Wan Chai District, inbound starting point at Central and Western District; ($) - inbound service ends at Tai Po District | |||||||||||||||||||
