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The Airbus Route A43 is operated by Long Win Bus (LWB). It runs between Fanling (Luen Wo Hui) and Airport (Ground Transportation Centre), via Cheung Wah Estate, Fanling South and MTR Sheung Shui Station, and observes San Tin Highway, Tai Lam Tunnel and Lantau Link to and from Hong Kong International Airport and HZMB Hong Kong Port.

Route A43 and its special departure, Route A43P are the only two LWB routes to observe Tai Lam Tunnel on a whole-day basis after all whole-day Yuen Long District North Lantau External Routes and Airbus Routes withdrew from the Tunnel.[Remark 1]

History[]

Introducing background[]

The Transport Department published a leaflet "From your home to the airport - Different ways to get there" when the New Airport opened on 6 July 1998. It suggested North District residents to travel to Tai Po or Sha Tin first then change to other bus route go to Airport.[1] Also they said that they would not introduce a bus route travelling between North District and the Airport.

North District citizens are dissatisfied because bringing a lot of luggage for transfers causing their inconvenience. LWB get a attention of this demand and so they applied to Transport Department for a bus route plying between North District and Airport but Transport Department rejected the apply and give a another suggestion which is introduce a bus route From North District to Tsing Yi AR Station via Tai Lam Tunnel of Route M78 (that mostly like Route 279X) to connect to Airport Express to replace LWB's plan.

However, North District District Councillors still not ceased to demand a direct Airport Bus service and underwent a discuss with Legislative Councillors for this matter. After Transport Department reviewed existing Airport bus routes to different districts, finally they allowed LWB to introduce an Airport Bus route to North District and the Route was named A43.

Route Change History[]

  • 30 January 1999: Route A43 was introduced, plying between Fanling (Wah Ming) and Airport (Ground Transportation Centre) on a 6-month trial run basis. Due to ideal amount of passengers, it became a permanent route.[2]
  • 29 January 2001: 2 special departures observing Chun Wan Road Interchange, Scenic Road, East Coast Road and Airport Road were added, with departure time from Wah Ming being at 07:00 and 07:40.
  • 17 June 2001: Route was extended to Luen Wo Hui, observing Sha Tau Kok Road - Lung Yeuk Tau, San Wan Road and Pak Wo Road, and at the same time omitting Wah Ming.
  • 20 December 2005: Daily departures from Luen Wo Hui between 07:00 to 19:00 will observe Asiaworld-Expo before terminating at Ground Transportation Centre.
  • 1 August 2006: Departure times of special departures via Cathay City amended. Services via Asiaworld-Expo were reduced to only on event days at Asiaworld-Expo.
  • 22 December 2007: Observes Terminal 2 (at Sky Plaza Road) for Airport bound.
  • 24 May 2010: New departure from Airport (Ground Transportation Centre) at 22:45 from Mondays and Saturdays added on a trial-run basis.
  • 1 October 2011: Special departures via Cathay City increased to 6 departures.
  • 1 May 2013: New arrangements were made following the extension of LWB's Franchised Bus License:
    • Interchange Discounts with KMB Routes 73, 270 and 273B added;
    • Expanding the existing interchange discount scheme from Airport Routes (A routes) to North Lantau External Routes (E routes) to cross-interchanging between A routes and E routes.
    • Airport Staff same-day return discount added.
  • 18 December 2014: Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA) added to this route.
  • 30 September 2015:
    • Extending service hours from Fanling (Luen Wo Hui) to 05:10 - 23:00;
    • Departure from Luen Wo Hui at 06:35 on Saturdays, Sundays and Public Holidays observes Cathay City.
  • 15 June 2016: New stop at Tai Lam Tunnel Interchange and section fares starting from the stop to Airport and Luen Wo Hui added.
  • 8 September 2016: New stop at So Kwun Po Village on San Wan Road added for Airport bound.
  • 19 November 2016: New interchange discount with all KMB solely-operated routes (regardless of direction) added, with maximum discount of HK$6.0 for interchange entitled when using Octopus cards.
  • 1 July 2017: Octopus interchange discount with Route S64 added.
  • 10 July 2017: New stop at So Kwun Po Village on San Wan Road added for Luen Wo Hui bound.
  • 1 September 2017: Airport Staff same-day return discount was replaced by a single-trip fare of HK$27.8.
  • 29 June 2019: Extending the first bus hours and observe Ka Fuk Estate:
    • First bus from Airport (Ground Transportation Centre) was extended to 06:30;
    • New stop "Chi Fuk Circuit Fanling" was added for both bounds.
  • 29 November 2019: Diverted via Airport Road and Airport South Interchange after Cheong Hong Road to Cheong Lin Road due to the Terminal 2 Expansion Project; original stop at Terminal 2 on Sky Plaza Road was cancelled.
  • 20 August 2023: Both directions observed HZMB Hong Kong Port.

Service Hours and Headways[]

The latest update is on 4/2023, see here for the referenced link LWB Route A43/Detailed Departure Timetable

This route provides Estimated Time of Arrival service.

Fares[]

Journey/ Boarding Station Fare
Full Fare $30.9
Section Fare (to Airport)
Tai Lam Tunnel $27.7
Lantau Link Interchange $18.9
Section Fare (to Fanling)
Tai Lam Tunnel $15.0
from Sheung Shui Station $7.7
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.
  • This route is not covered by the Public Transport Fare Concession Scheme for the Elderly and Eligible Persons with Disabilities.
  • 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 the above payment method cannot enjoy interchange concessions with non-KMB/LWB routes and cannot enjoy "Public Transport Fare Subsidy".
  • Passengers can also buy pre-sold tickets for travelling on this route from LWB Customer Service and Ticketing Office at Airport (Ground Transportation Centre).

Airport Staff Fare Concession Scheme[]

Eligible Airport Staff holding Personalised Octopus Cards for Airport Staff can pay the concessionary fare of $27.8 when travelling on this route. Concerned passengers should present their own Personalised Octopus Cards for Airport Staff to the Bus Captain and pay with that card upon boarding.

Bus Interchange Scheme[]

Passengers who use the same Octopus card or the same electronic payment account to transfer to a designated route after taking this route, or transfer to this route from a designated route within a designated time period, can enjoy transfer discounts. The details are as follows (Children and senior fare discounts are calculated in half) Template:LWB Route A43 Interchange Scheme

Lantau Link Bus Interchange Scheme[]

Template:LWB Lantau Link Bus Interchange Scheme

LWB Airport Route - KMB Routes Interchange Scheme[]

Template:LWB Airport Route - KMB Routes Interchange Scheme

Bus Deployment[]

Template:List of bus deployed to LWB Routes A43 and A43P

Bus Deployment History[]

Since commencement, Dennis Trident (1XX-2XX) has long been the type of bus being deployed to this route.

In 2006, an Enviro500 Coach Version bus (601/ML3941) has been deployed to this route. In 2007, it was replaced by a Duple Metsec-bodied Dennis Trident (301/JV7629) which was being converted to Coach Version.

1 March 2009, KMB Sha Tin Depot (Sheung Shui Sub-depot) (S) began deploying buses on this route.In 2010, the only Coach Version Volvo B9TL (401/MX9771) originally deployed on Route A41P was rescheduled to this route, replacing the Dennis Trident (301/JV7629). It returned temporarily back to this route from 6 March to 11 August 2011. Then together with another Alexander-bodied Dennis Trident, it was again deployed away from this route, being replaced by two Euro 4 Enviro 500s (8428/PG2638 and 8430/PG7279), then changed to the Coach Version Enviro 500 (601/ML3941).

In 2014, Semi-coach version Enviro500 MMCs (65XX) were deployed to this route.

Since 11 June 2016, the latest coach version Enviro500 MMCs (55XX) were deployed to Routes A43 and A43P, making the first batch of LWB Airport routes using these new coach buses. [3][4][5]The first same type buses with a length of 12.8m (1501/UD1352) also debuted on this route on 17 June 2016. Since 25 July 2016, 11 Enviro500 MMCS with a length of 12.8m (1501-1511) becamed scheduled buses of both Routes A43 and A43P, replacing all 12m buses originally deployed on this route.

Routing[]

to Airport (Ground Transportation Centre)[]

Routing Roads observed

Ordinary
Wo Tai Street, Luen On Street, Sha Tau Kok Road - Lung Yeuk Tau, San Wan Road, Jockey Club Road, Pak Wo Road, Chi Fuk Circuit, Pak Wo Road, So Kwun Po Road, San Wan Road, Sheung Shui Bus Terminus, Lung Wan Street, San Wan Road, So Kwun Po Road, Fanling Highway, San Tin Highway, Tsing Long Highway, Northwest Tsing Yi Interchange, Lantau Link, North Lantau Highway, Airport Road, Cheong Hong Road, Airport Road, Airport South Interchange, Cheong Lin Road, Sky City Interchange, Chek Lap Kok Road, Shun Fai Road, Shun Wui Road, Chek Lap Kok Road, Tung Wing Road, Airport Road, Cheong Hong Road and Cheong Lin Road
*
AM departures via Cathay Pacific City
..., North Lantau Highway, Airport Road, Chun Wan Road Interchange, Scenic Road, East Coast Road, Airport Road, Cheong Hong Road...
Long Win Bus Route A43 (Fanling (Luen Wo Hui)Airport (Ground Transportation Centre))
No. Area Road Bus Stop Name Remarks
1 Fanling (Luen Wo Hui) Luen Wo Hui Bus Terminus
2 Sha Tau Kok Road - Lung Yeuk Tau Lok Wo Street
3 Fanling Fanling Fire Station
4 San Wan Road Fanling Station Interchange - Cheung Wah Estate (A1)
5 Fanling Centre
6 Jockey Club Road Tong Hang
7 Fanling South Pak Wo Road Flora Plaza
8 Yan Shing Court
9 Fanling Station Interchange - Fung Ying Seen Koon (D2) MTR logo
10 Kei San Secondary School
11 Fanling Chi Fuk Circuit Chi Fuk Circuit Fanling
12 Pak Wo Road Ka Shing Court
13 Glamour Garden
14 Sheung Shui San Wan Road Sheung Shui Station MTR logo
15 Landmark North MTR logo
16 San Wan Road So Kwun Po Village
Route9 Fanling Highway, San Tin Highway, Route3 Tsing Long Highway
17 Pat Heung Tai Lam Tunnel BBI (A6) Section Fare begins
Route3 Tai Lam Tunnel, Ting Kau Bridge; Route8 Tsing Ma Bridge, Kap Shui Mun Bridge
18 Tsing Chau Tsai Peninsula Lantau Link BBI (A1) BBI Logo GreenYellow Interchange to R8
Section Fare begins
Route8 North Lantau Highway
* Airport (Logistics Area) Scenic Road Cathay Pacific City Applicable to Morning Departures using Routing 2②
19 Airport (Terminal Area) Cheong Hong Road Terminal 1 MTR logo Alighting Only
# Airport (SkyCity) Asiaworld-Expo Bus Terminus MTR logo Applicable before major event starts at Asiaworld-Expo
20 HZMB Hong Kong Port Artificial Island Shun Fai Road HZMB Passenger Clearance Building
21 Airport (Terminal Area) Airport (Ground Transportation Centre) Bus Terminus MTR logo
Special departures via Cathay Pacific City are available everyday morning.

to Luen Wo Hui[]

via: Cheong Lin Road, Airport South Interchange, Cheong Lin Road, Sky City Interchange, Chek Lap Kok Road, Shun Fai Road, Shun Wui Road, HZMB Hong Kong Port Public Transport Interchange, Shun Wui Road, Chek Lap Kok Road, Shun Long Road, North Lantau Highway, Lantau Link, North West Tsing Yi Interchange, Tsing Long Highway, San Tin Highway, Fanling Highway, So Kwun Po Road, San Wan Road, Sheung Shui Bus Terminus, Lung Wan Street, San Wan Road, So Kwun Po Road, Pak Wo Road, Chi Fuk Circuit, Pak Wo Road, Jockey Club Road, San Wan Road, Sha Tau Kok Road - Lung Yeuk Tau, Luen On Street and Wo Mun Street

Long Win Bus Route A43 (Airport (Ground Transportation Centre)Luen Wo Hui)
No. Area Road Bus Stop Name Remarks
1 Airport (Terminal Area) Airport (Ground Transportation Centre) Bus Terminus MTR logo
2 HZMB Hong Kong Port Artificial Island HZMB Hong Kong Port (W1)
Route8 North Lantau Highway
3 Tsing Chau Tsai Peninsula Lantau Link BBI (N1) BBI Logo GreenYellow Interchange from R8
Route8 Kap Shui Mun Bridge, Tsing Ma Bridge; Route3 Ting Kau Bridge, Tai Lam Tunnel
4 Pat Heung Tai Lam Tunnel BBI (B6) Section Fare begins
Route3 Tsing Long Highway; Route9 San Tin Highway, Fanling Highway
5 Sheung Shui San Wan Road Sheung Shui Station MTR logo Section Fare begins
6 Landmark North MTR logo
7 San Wan Road So Kwun Po Village
8 Fanling South Pak Wo Road Cheerful Park
9 Ka Shing Court
10 Chi Fuk Circuit Chi Fuk Circuit Fanling
11 Pak Wo Road Kei San Secondary School
12 Fanling Station Interchange - Fanling Station (D1) MTR logo
13 King Shing Court
14 Wah Sum Estate
15 Fanling Jockey Club Road Tong Hang
16 San Wan Road Fanling Centre
17 Fanling Station Interchange - Fanling Town Centre (B1)
18 Sha Tau Kok Road - Lung Yeuk Tau Fan Leng Lau
19 Fanling (Luen Wo Hui) Luen Wo Hui Playground
20 Luen Wo Hui Bus Terminus

Ridership[]

As one of the only two daytime bus routes in North District serving the Islands District, Route A43 has been operating with high ridership since its inception. Since North District is the only district in the New Territories that does not have an "E" route (North Lantau External Route) to Tung Chung, the District Council has been requesting for years for an additional service to allow residents to travel to and from Lantau Island at a lower fare. The Transport Department pointed out that the number of passengers on this route was not sufficient to support the introduction of the "E" route, and that residents of North District should transfer to other "E" routes at Lantau Link Toll Plaza.[6][7] After much discussion in the District Council, the Transport Department and the bus companies proposed in the 2017-2018 Bus Route Plan to introduce a new Route E43 between the North District and Tung Chung, but only during the morning and afternoon peak hours on weekdays.

Apart from residents of the North District, transit passengers interchanging to the East Rail Line at MTR Sheung Shui Station and travelling to and from Mainland China via Lo Wu Station or Lok Ma Chau Station are also a major source of passengers for this route. As the Hong Kong International Airport has a wide range of destinations and a better choice of flights than the neighbouring airports in the Pearl River Delta Region, many Mainland Chinese travellers choose to depart from Hong Kong International Airport to foreign destinations, by entering Hong Kong by land from Shenzhen, and then take the MTR to Sheung Shui Station to transfer to this route to and from the airport, and vice versa, resulting in an increasing number of passengers on this route.

Based on past bus route plans and related information, the patronage of this route is as follows

  • 2012: The occupancy rate of the first bus was about 62%.[8]
  • 2013: The occupancy rate was 67%.[9]
  • 2014: Over 60% in the morning peak period towards the airport; and about 75% in the afternoon peak period towards Luen Wo Hui.[10]
  • 2015: Maximum hourly occupancy rate of 91% during peak hours; maximum hourly occupancy rate of 75% during off-peak hours.[11]
  • 2017: Maximum occupancy rate of 90% during peak hours; average occupancy rate of 60% during the busiest half-hour.[12]
  • June 2020: 65% occupancy rate for the busiest hour.[13]
  • 2023: The peak hour occupancy rate was 36%.

Related Incidents[]

Bus on Fire[]

  • 23 July 1999: At about 12:00 noon, after passing through the toll booth of the Tai Lam Tunnel, a Wah Ming-bound Dennis Trident with regular interior fittings (197/HT7970[32]) approached the bus interchange about 200 metres before the lower deck passengers noticed smoke coming from the tailgate floor. All passengers and luggage escaped from the fire in time before it spread. The bus was badly burnt within 10 minutes and firefighters were able to put out the fire without injuries. [14][15]
    • After examining the bus, LWB initially concluded that the cause of the fire was a short circuit in the electric cable of the heater at the bottom of the staircase.[16] The expert report further stated that the incident involved the failure of the "anti-skid starter device" of the bus, which caused the axle to overheat and the heat generated to reach the front of the bus through the heater slot, thus triggering the fire.[17]
    • In accordance with the manufacturer's instructions and with the agreement of the Transport Department, KMB and LWB have gradually stopped using the anti-skid starter device on other buses of the same model.
    • The bus was burned to the ground and decommissioned early without being repaired, and Dennis compensated LWB with a new Duple Metsec-bodied bus (Input error/JV7629) of the same model.

Traffic Accidents[]

  • 4 March 2013: At around 6am, two drivers and a taxi passenger were injured when an Airport-bound Dennis Trident (517/HT9829) collided with a taxi at Kap Shui Mun Bridge.[18]
  • 16 December 2013: At around 12:00 noon, an Airport-bound Enviro500 (8425/PF6849) travelling in the Tai Lam Tunnel crashed into a lorry and an Enviro500 MMC (ATENU132/SH2502) running on Route 68M in front of it, injuring five people.[19]
  • 9 May 2014: At around 10am, a Dennis Trident (Input error/JV7629) heading towards Luen Wo Hui collided with a lorry and van in the Tai Lam Tunnel, injuring one person.[20][21]
  • 25 December 2016: At around 2pm, a Coach version of the Enviro500 MMC (1520/UE9165) heading towards Luen Wo Hui collided with a broken down container truck ahead of it on San Tin Highway near Mai Po. The bus was then hit by a following Toyota Coaster (LV2161) minibus running on the New Territories GMB Route 44, injuring 42 people. The front of the bus was twisted out of shape and the rear of the bus was dented, causing serious damage.[22]This was the second accident for the LWB Coach version of the Enviro500 MMC after a Route A37 bus crashed due to control loss in August of the same year. The restoration work did not commence until September of the following year due to the waiting time for spare parts.[23][24]

Gallery[]

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Remarks[]

  1. Routes E36P and E36S do not provide whole-day services.

Related Articles[]

  • LWB Route A43P
  • LWB Route N42A
  • LWB Route N42P (Cancelled)
  • LWB Route NA43
  • LWB Route X43

References[]

  1. HKSAR Transport Department, "From your home to the airport different ways to get there", June 1998 (stored in HKU Libaries)
  2. "Provision of Public Transport Services Serving the Airport", Legislative Council Panel on Transport (Papers), 28 May 1999
  3. 周六投入服務 新機場巴士 手機可叉電〉, Ming Pao, 8 June 2016.
  4. 設獨立USB叉電 龍運豪華巴士投入服務〉, AM730, 8 June 2016.
  5. 豪華龍運巴士有USB充電座!本周六登場〉, HKET, 8 June 2016.
  6. 〈A43線每程28元市民嫌貴 促開設E線 九巴稱客量不足〉, Oriental Daily News, 26 July 2004.
  7. HKSARG, "LCQ1: Bus Routes in North District"[Press Release], 20 June 2012.
  8. North District Council Traffic and Transport Committee Minutes of the 3rd meeting], 14 May 2012.
  9. North District Council (2012- 2015) Minutes of the 12th meeting of the Traffic and Transport Committee], 11 November 2013.
  10. [龍運A43繁忙時間懷疑不足班次]〉, Oriental Daily News, 29 December 2014.
  11. "ch.pdf LWB Route A43 Service Enhancement Proposal", 8 July 2015.
  12. North District Bus Route Patronage Survey Report〉, North District Council Traffic and Transport Committee North District Transport Survey Working Group, 13 March 2017.
  13. Routing Alterations of Franchised Bus Routes to tie in with the opening of the Northern Link of the Tuen Mun-Chek Lap Kok Link (North District), Traffic and Transport Committee, North District Council (Information Paper No. 52/2020), June 2020.
  14. 〈雙層巴八分鐘燒成灰〉,《星島日報》,1999年7月24日。
  15. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vfNhFA1Fpw&feature=related [新聞] 龍運A43機場巴士火警 (23/7/1999), YouTube.
  16. "KMB fire suspected to be caused by electrical short circuit", Wen Wei Po, 27 July 1999. (Chinese)
  17. "Report on bus burning incident completed: 300 buses need to remove anti-skid devices", Ta Kung Pao, 19 August 1999.
  18. 巴士撞扁的士尾 險殺空姐〉, Oriental Daily News, 5 March 2013.
  19. 大欖隧道內三車串燒5人傷〉, Apple Daily Breaking News, 16 December 2013.
  20. 大欖隧道管道3車撞 入新界方向塞爆〉, on.cc, 9 May 2014.
  21. 【即時交通】大欖入元朗3車撞龍尾汀九橋入口〉, Apple Daily Breaking News, 9 May 2014.
  22. 42 injured in three-vehicle collision on San Tin Highway〉, Oriental Daily News, 26 December 2016.
  23. 龍運BYD全家福 + 爆頭Facelift近況, hkitalk.net.
  24. 修復中的龍運1520 (UE9165) + 意外車, hkitalk.net.

External Links[]

Template:Ref-KMB

Template:List of North District Bus Routes

Template:Route

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