Hong Kong Buses Wiki

The North Lantau Bus Route 37 is operated by New Lantao Bus (NLB). It runs between Ying Tung Estate and Yat Tung Estate, via Caribbean Coast, Seaview Crescent, Mun Tung Estate and Chung Yat Street School Area.

After the re-organisation of Route 37 series in 2021, Route 37 only provides service during peak hours on Monday to Friday school days, with the services during the rest of the day being replaced by branch routes 37H and 37M, while the whole-day Route 37A serving Tung Chung East is also categorised as its special trip, making it a rare example for a main route to operate only during peak hours while a branch route to provide whole-day services.[Remark 1]

History[]

  • 20 June 1999: Route 37 entered service, running circular between Tung Chung MTR Station and Tung Chung Ferry Pier, operating only on Saturdays, Sundays and Public Holidays with an interval of 1 hour.[1]
  • 31 August 2000: Enhanced to daily whole-day service and detoured via Tung Chung North at the same time.[2]
  • 15 March 2001: Extended to Yat Tung Estate with the intake of Stage I of the estate, with the terminus located on-street on Yu Tung Road off Hong Yat House.[3]
  • 1 September 2001: Octopus interchange concession with MTR Tung Chung Line was introduced. [4]
  • 6 January 2003: Octopus interchange concessions with Citybus and Long Win Bus (LWB) routes were introduced, offering fare concessions for interchanging between certain bus routes in Tung Chung Town Centre. [5][6]
  • 4 April 2004: The following changes were made with the cancellation of branch route 37A:
    • Changed to operate between Yat Tung Estate and Caribbean Coast;
    • Circular operation was cancelled.[7]
  • 30 May 2004: The Yat Tung Estate terminus was relocated from Yu Tung Road to a covered public transport interchange on the ground floor of Carpark 3 in the estate to tie in with the occupation of Yat Tung (II) Estate; some trips to Yat Tung Estate remained detouring via eastbound Yu Tung Road (Fuk Yat House Yat Tung Estate).[8][9]
  • 19 November 2006: Service was drastically reduced with the serious losses made on the route (with a loss of over 1 million HKD throughout the year):[10][11]
    • Service was reduced to operate only during before and after school hours on Monday to Friday school days with Saturday, Sunday and Public Holiday services cancelled;
    • Yat Tung bound trips detouring via Fuk Yat House Yat Tung Estate on Yu Tung Road were cancelled;
    • The original service was replaced by a new two-way section fare on Citybus Route E21A and relocation of the terminus of non-peak hour trips of Citybus Route S56 to Tung Chung MTR Station.
  • 25 November 2006: Some morning services on Saturdays and holidays were reinstated on a trial basis.
  • 27 November 2006: A new special service was introduced, operating one-way from Yat Tung (Yu Tung Road) to Caribbean Coast during mornings on weekday school days.
  • 22 January 2007: Services between Tung Chung MTR Station and Yat Tung Estate detouring via Chung Yat Street were cancelled.
  • 27 May 2007: Services on Saturdays and holidays were added to meet the demands of the residents.
  • 1 September 2008: The special service from Yat Tung (Yu Tung Road) to Caribbean Coast was cancelled[12] and was replaced by Route 37P which ran directly to the schools. However, NLB did not issue passenger notices for the service change (except for the removal of the special departure information from the official website) until the new school year 2011, when the special departure was no longer mentioned in the stopping notices during long school holidays, but the information about the special service in the Schedule of Routes Order was not removed until 2013.
  • 9 July 2010 to 8 January 2011: The amount of interchange concession with this route was increased from $1.0 to $1.5 after the MTR fare increase for a period of 6 months.[13][14]
  • 1 July 2011 to 1 January 2012: The amount of interchange concession with this route was increased from $1.0 to $1.5 after the MTR fare increase for a period of 3 months.[15]
  • 1 July to 30 September 2012: The amount of interchange concession with this route was increased from $1.0 to $1.5 after the MTR fare increase for a period of 3 months.[16]
  • 20 September 2013: Upgraded to daily whole-day service once again with the last bus time delayed to around 20:30 to facilitate the opening of North Lantau Hospital on 24th of the same month.
  • 30 September 2013: Service hours were extended to midnight.
  • 2 November 2013: No longer stopped at "Tung Chung Crescent" stop on Shun Tung Road due to low patronage.
  • 20 April 2015: Changed to stop at Tung Chung Station Bus Terminus beneath Citygate for Caribbean Coast direction and changed to enter and exit the Tung Chung Station Bus Terminus via Mei Tung Street due to the temporary closure of Tung Chung Town Centre Bus Terminus due to its acquisition as a site for property development project.[17]
  • 10 October 2015: Rerouted to turn left after Tung Chung Station Bus Terminus and Mei Tung Street via Tat Tung Road towards Shun Tung Road for both directions, with the en-route stops at "Citygate" (to Yat Tung Estate) and "Fu Tung Plaza" (to Caribbean Coast) on Tat Tung Road cancelled.[18]
  • 16 February 2017: Tung Chung North terminus was relocated to Ying Tung Estate, with an additional stop at "The Visionary" on Ying Tung Road and the arrangement of detouring via "Kin Tung Road" stop (i.e. former Caribbean Coast Bus Terminus) being retained.[19]
  • 31 December 2017: Estimated Time of Bus Arrival Enquiry Service (ETA) enquiry service was introduced to this route. [20]
  • 27 April 2019: The bus stop at "Tung Chung MTR Station" for Ying Tung Estate direction was cancelled and changed to stop at Tung Chung Town Centre Bus Terminus which reopened on the same day.[21]
  • 11 July 2019: With the closure of ingress and egress on Mei Tung Street of Tung Chung Station Bus Terminus, both directions were rerouted via the ingress and egress on Tat Tung Road to access the terminus; however, the arrangement of turning right onto Tat Tung Road was not reinstated.[22]
  • 28 October 2019: A new stop was added at "Mun Tung Estate" on Yu Tung Road for both directions on special services via Chung Yat Street.[23]
  • 12 February 2020: Service was suspended due to the decrease in ridership caused by the novel coronavirus pandemic, and the affected passengers had to shift to diverted Route 37H.[24]
    • Special services to Chung Yat Street were operated from 24 April to 5 May, 7 May, 11 May, and 16 to 25 May (excluding Sundays, public holidays, 19 May and 22 May) to facilitate Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE) examination candidates travelling to secondary schools in the Chung Yat Street area.[25][26]
  • 23 September 2020: Service was resumed with the gradual resumption of schools in Hong Kong.
  • 7 February 2021:[27][28]
    • Service was reduced again to operate on Monday to Friday school days; the departure time from Ying Tung Estate was 06:40 - 08:05 and that from Yat Tung Estate was 16:05 and 16:15, with all trips detouring via Chung Mun Road and Chung Yat Street and the service during other periods being replaced by rerouted Route 37H;
    • No longer detoured via Tung Chung Development Ferry Pier for both directions.
  • 29 August 2022: The following changes were implemented on a trial basis until 30 September 2022, which was later changed to trial arrangement until further notice:[29][30]
    • Rerouted via Yi Tung Road and Tung Chung Eastern Interchange and no longer serving Shun Tung Road and Tat Tung Road for Yat Tung Estate direction;
    • Morning services from Yat Tung Estate to Ying Tung Estate omitting Tung Chung Town Centre were added, with the departure times being 07:42, 07:52 and 08:02.
  • 2 July 2024: A new departure at 08:12 from Yat Tung Estate omitting Tung Chung Town Centre on weekday school days was added on a trial basis until 30 September of the same year.[31][32]

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 10/2024, please refer to the link below for the official route information.

Departure times from Ying Tung Estate
Hrs Mins
School days on Mondays to Fridays
06 40
07 00, 20, 40, 55
08 05
No service on Saturdays, Sundays, Public Holidays and school holidays
Departure times from Yat Tung Estate
Hrs Mins
School days on Mondays to Fridays
07 42*, 52*
08 02*
16 05, 15
No service on Saturdays, Sundays, Public Holidays and school holidays
Remarks
* Omit Chung Mun Road and Tung Chung Town Centre.
This route provides Estimated Time of Arrival enquiry service.

Fares[]

Journey/boarding stop Fares
Full fare $3.9
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 use AlipayHK "EasyGo" and WeChat QR Code Payment to pay the fares. Passengers using this form of payment cannot enjoy the "Public Transport Fare Subsidy" nor the "Public Transport Fare Concession Scheme for the Elderly and Eligible Persons with Disabilities".
  • Holders of "Lantau Pass" valid on that day should show their ride pass to bus captain upon boarding for free rides.
  • This route has no section fares.

Octopus Interchange Concession Scheme[]

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:NLB Route 37 Interchange Concession Scheme

Details of NLB Tung Chung Town Centre Interchange Concessions
Corresponding to (: Concession applies to)
Description 37 37A 37H 37M 37P N37 38 38X N38 39M
Interchanging from Citybus routes heading to Airport/SKYCITY
E11/E11A/E11B/E21/E21D/E22/E22A/E23/E23A
(Concession is only applicable to passengers who pay $14 or above for the first journey)
Interchanging from LWB routes heading to Airport/SKYCITY
E32/E33/E33P/E36/E36P/E36S/E37/E41/E42
(Concession is only applicable to passengers who board before Lantau Link BBI or Tuen Mun Chek Lap Kok Tunnel BBI)
The time limit for the above interchange is 150 minutes (counting from the time of tapping on the first journey)
Interchanging to Citybus routes from Airport/SKYCITY
E11/E11A/E11B/E21/E21D/E22/E22A/E23/E23A
Interchanging to LWB routes from Airport/SKYCITY
E32/E33/E33P/E36/E36P/E36S/E37/E41/E42
The time limit for the above interchange is 90 minutes (counting from the time of tapping on the first journey)
Interchanging from MTR Tung Chung Line after exiting the gate at Tung Chung Station
Interchanging from NLB Routes to MTR Tung Chung Line after tapping card on the former
The time limit for the above interchange is 90 minutes
Interchanging to Routes B6/B6S to HZMB Hong Kong Port Reduce $2.2 Reduce $2.2 Reduce $2.2 Reduce$3.6 Reduce$2.2
Interchanging from Route B6 from HZMB Hong Kong Port Reduce $2.2 Reduce $2.2 Reduce $2.2 Reduce $3.6
The time limit for the above interchange is 60 minutes 

Points to note:

  • Passengers using the same Octopus card to interchange between designated public transport modes after travelling on a designated NLB routes (in the same direction as the journey to Tung Chung Station) or from a designated public transport mode to a designated Lantau bus route (in the same direction as the journey from Tung Chung Station) within a specified period of time can enjoy a $1.0 discount on the second trip (concession amount discounted by 50% for senior citizens aged 65 or above, or children aged below 12).
  • For passengers who benefit from the Public Transport Fare Concession Scheme for the Elderly and Eligible Persons with Disabilities, the second journey fare is the lower of the above second journey concessionary fare (50% discount for elderly aged 65 or above or eligible persons with disabilities aged below 12) and $2.0, therefore, there may be some combinations of interchanges without interchange concessions.
  • Connections to MTR are only applicable to passengers using Adult Octopus (on all above Lantau routes) or Personalised Octopus with "Persons with Disabilities Status" (except NLB routes 39M and N37) to travel on MTR fare-charging journeys.
  • The "HZMB Hong Kong Port Employee Travel Scheme" of NLB cannot be used in conjunction with this interchange concession.

Official website:

Bus deployments[]

This route is primarily served by MAN RC2 single-decker buses (MN92-95), Young Man JNP6122G single-decker buses (YM01-24), MAN A95 (MD, MDR), and Enviro400 Euro V double-decker buses (AD01-14).

Bus deployment evolution history[]

Bus deployment evolution history of NLB Route 37

During its initial operation, this route primarily utilised MAN NL273 (MN30-39) and Young Man JNP6122G (YM01-24) vehicles, with occasional deployment of the double-door variant of MAN A91 (MN15-19). During school term peak hours, additional support was provided by MAN A95 double-decker buses from Kwoon Chung Bus.

Under the 2013-2014 Bus Route Development Programme, this route was allocated a fleet of six vehicles.

Route sign displays[]

The route sign of this route towards Caribbean Coast was different across various models before 2014, with the following examples:

    • VV1, MAN NL263, MAN A51, MAN A91: 東涌北/TUNG CHUNG NORTH (changed to 映灣園/CARIBBEAN COAST after 2014)
    • Dennis Dart, Volvo B6LE, MAN NL262, MN77, MN78, Young Man JNP6122G, Dennis Trident: 映灣園/CARIBBEAN COAST
    • MAN 24.310 operated by Kwoon Chung Bus: Using plastic signs with the display 東涌北/TUNG CHUNG NORTH

Routing[]

To Yat Tung Estate[]

To Yat Tung Estate: The distance of this route is approx. 7.5km, and the journey time is approximately 23mins. (The average speed is 19.6km/h.)

Via: Ying Tung Road, Man Tung Road, Kin Tung Road, Man Tung Road, Wai Tung Road, Tung Chung Waterfront Road, Yi Tung Road, Tung Chung Eastern Interchange, Yu Tung Road (westbound), Chung Mun Road, Chung Yat Street, Chung Mun Road, Yu Tung Road (eastbound), Chung Yan Road and Yat Tung Street

New Lantao Bus Route 37 (Ying Tung EstateYat Tung Estate)
No. Area Road Bus stop name Remarks
1 Tung Chung North Ying Tung Road Ying Tung Estate
2 The Visionary (Southbound)
3 Kin Tung Road Kin Tung Road
4 Man Tung Road Caribbean Coast Phase 2
5 Yi Tung Road
6 E Wun Secondary School
7 Wai Tung Road Seaview Crescent
8 Tung Chung West Yu Tung Road Mun Tung Estate
9 Chung Yat Street Chung Yat Street
10 Chung Mun Road Chung Mun Road
11 Yu Tung Road Fuk Yat House Yat Tung Estate
12 Yung Yat House Yat Tung Estate
13 Chung Yan Road North Lantau Hospital (Northbound)
14 Yat Tung Street Kui Yat House Yat Tung Estate Alighting only
15 Yat Tung Estate

To Ying Tung Estate[]

Routing Roads observed

Regular
The distance of this route is approx. 8.0km, and the journey time is approximately 25mins. (The average speed is 19.2km/h.)
Yat Tung Street, Chung Yan Road, Yu Tung Road (westbound), Chung Mun Road, Chung Yat Street, Chung Mun Road, Yu Tung Road (eastbound), Shun Tung Road, Tat Tung Road, Tung Chung Station Bus Terminus, Tat Tung Road, Shun Tung Road, Tung Chung Waterfront Road, Wai Tung Road, Man Tung Road, Kin Tung Road, Man Tung Road and Ying Tung Road
*
AM omit Chung Mun Road, Tung Chung Town Centre
The distance of this route is approx. 5.2km, and the journey time is approximately 18mins. (The average speed is 17.3km/h.)
Yat Tung Street, Chung Yan Road, Yu Tung Road (eastbound), Tung Chung Eastern Interchange, Yi Tung Road, Tung Chung Waterfront Road, ……
New Lantao Bus Route 37 (Yat Tung EstateYing Tung Estate)
No. Area Road Bus stop name Remarks
1 Tung Chung West Yat Tung Estate
2 Chung Yan Road North Lantau Hospital (Southbound)
3 Tung Chung West Yu Tung Road Mun Tung Estate Not applicable to routing ②
4 Chung Yat Street Chung Yat Street
5 Chung Mun Road Chung Mun Road
6 Yu Tung Road Fuk Yat House Yat Tung Estate
7 Yung Yat House Yat Tung Estate
8 Tung Chung Town Centre Shun Tung Road Tung Chung Fire Station
9 Tat Tung Road Tung Chung Cable Car Terminal
10 Tung Chung Station Bus Terminus
11 Tung Chung North Wai Tung Road Seaview Crescent
12 Man Tung Road Coastal Skyline
13 Caribbean Coast Phase 3
14 Caribbean Coast Phase 2
15 Kin Tung Road Kin Tung Road
16 Ying Tung Road The Visionary (Northbound)
17 Ying Tung Estate

Ridership[]

The Citybus Route E21A also connects between Tung Chung West and Tung Chung North with a two-way section fare. On 19 November 2018, Mr Wong Leung-pak, Chairman of the NLB, stated at the Traffic and Transportation Committee of the Islands District Council that this route incurred losses amounting to HK$10 million during the 2017-2018 financial year.[33]

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

  • 2015: The occupancy rate during the peakiest hour was 47%.
  • 2020: The occupancy rate during the peakiest hour was 65%.[34]
  • 2024: The average occupancy rates of the routes concerned during the busiest hour in the mornings were around 50-60%.[35]

Gallery[]

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


Remarks[]

  1. Other examples include the whole-day Cross-Harbour Bus Route 962X which is regarded as a special departure of peak hour route 962, and the whole-day Cross-Harbour Bus Route 673 which is regarded as a special departure of peak hour route 373.

Related articles[]

References[]

  1. 巴士新聞 1999年6月 (Bus News June 1999), BUStop.
  2. 巴士新聞 2000年8月 (Bus News August 2000), BUStop.
  3. 巴士新聞 2001年3月 (Bus News March 2001), BUStop.
  4. "Bills Committee on Rail Merger Bill Fare Adjustment Mechanism and Fare Reduction Proposal", Legislative Council Paper No. CB(1)195/06-07(01), 31 October 2006
  5. The Kowloon Motor Bus Company (1933) Limited, "Long Win and New Lantao Bus Jointly Launch Bus-Bus Interchange Scheme at Tung Chung Town Centre" [News Release].
  6. Citybus Limited, "Citybus And New Lantao Bus Join For New BBI Scheme With $1.00 Concession" [Press Release].
  7. Transport Department HKSARG, "合併北大嶼山巴士路線37及37A號"  (Amalgamation of North Lantau Route Nos. 37 and 37A) [Traffic Advice].
  8. New Lantao Bus Company (1973) Limited, "Routes No. 37, 38 & N38 Relocation of Yat Tung Estate Bus Terminus" [Passenger Notice].
  9. Transport Department HKSARG, "Opening of Yat Tung Estate Public Transport Terminus" [Traffic Advice].
  10. "嶼巴加價救亡 人手自然流失" (Manpower loses when NLB tries to raise fares to save costs), Oriental Daily News, 21 October 2006.
  11. Transport Department HKSARG, "大嶼山巴士第2, 23, 36及37號路線服務調整"  (Service adjustments of NLB Route Nos. 2, 23, 36 and 37) [Traffic Advice].
  12. New Lantao Bus Company (1973) Limited, "Timetable before cancellation".
  13. "Legislative Council Panel on Transport Adjustment to MTR Fares in 2010", Legislative Council Paper No. CB(1)2333/09-10(01), June 2010
  14. New Lantao Bus Company (1973) Limited, "Resumption of MTR/NLB Interchange Scheme to $1.00 After Promotional Discount Period Routes No. – 37, 37P, 38, 38P, N38 & 38X" [Special Notice].
  15. "Legislative Council Panel on Transport Adjustment to MTR Fares in 2011", Legislative Council Paper No. CB(1)2321/10-11(01), May 2011.
  16. "Legislative Council Panel on Transport Adjustment to MTR Fares in 2012", Legislative Council Paper No. CB(1)1995/11-12(01), May 2012.
  17. Transport Department HKSARG, "Closure of Tung Chung Town Centre Bus Terminus and its nearby Coach Terminus and Opening of Tung Chung Temporary Bus Terminus" [Announcement], 20 April 2015.
  18. New Lantao Bus Company (1973) Limited, "37線巴士更改行車路線"  (Amendment of Routeing of NLB Route 37) [News Release], 2 October 2015.
  19. New Lantao Bus Company (1973) Limited, "NLB extends the service of Route 37 and 37M to Ying Tung Estate" [News Release], 12 February 2017.
  20. New Lantao Bus Company (1973) Limited, "Trial of Estimated Time of Bus Arrival Enquiry Service" [News Release], 29 December 2017.
  21. New Lantao Bus Company (1973) Limited, "Permanent Relocation of Bus Stop of Route 37,37M,N37" [News Release], 24 April 2019.
  22. Transport Department HKSARG, "Closure of Ingress and Egress of Tung Chung Station Bus Terminus on Mei Tung Street" [Traffic Advice], 12 July 2019.
  23. New Lantao Bus Company (1973) Limited, "New Additional Bus Stop of Route 37" [News Release], 21 October 2019.
  24. New Lantao Bus Company (1973) Limited, "NLB Route 37 and 37S Suspended Service" [News Release], 11 February 2020.
  25. New Lantao Bus Company (1973) Limited, "2020中學文憑試班次安排(路線37,37P,38X)" [News Release], 27 April 2020.
  26. New Lantao Bus Company (1973) Limited, "2020中學文憑試班次安排(路線3M,37,37P,38X)" [News Release], 22 April 2020.
  27. Transport Department HKSARG, "Service Adjustments of NLB Route No. 37 (Tung Chung (Yat Tung Estate Public Transport Terminus) - Tung Chung North (Ying Tung Estate)) NLB Route No. 37H (Tung Chung North (Ying Tung Estate) to Tung Chung West (Mun Tung Estate) (via North Lantau Hospital) (Circular))" [Traffic Advice], 4 February 2021.
  28. New Lantao Bus Company (1973) Limited, "NLB Route 37 and 37H Service Alteration" [News Release], 4 February 2021.
  29. Transport Department HKSARG, "Temporary Service Adjustments of NLB Route No. 37 (Tung Chung North (Ying Tung Estate) - Tung Chung (Yat Tung Estate Public Transport Terminus))" [Traffic Advice], 26 August 2022.
  30. New Lantao Bus Company (1973) Limited, "Service Alteration of Route 37" [News Release], 26 August 2022.
  31. New Lantao Bus Company (1973) Limited, "Introduce Trial Service of NLB Route 37" [News Release], 27 June 2024.
  32. New Lantao Bus Company (1973) Limited, "Completion of trial service" [News Release], 29 September 2024.
  33. "Question on objecting to fare increase of New Lantao Bus and request for abolishing extra fare during holidays", Islands District Council Minutes of the Sixth Meeting of Traffic and Transport Committee (part IV), 19 November 2018.
  34. Transport Department HKSARG, "Rationalisation Proposal of NLB Routes No. 37 and 37H" (Chinese only), IDC(TTC) Paper No. 65/2020, December 2020.
  35. Islands District Council Minutes of the 2nd Meeting of Traffic and Transport Committee (point 31b).

External links[]