The North Lantau Special Bus Route B4 is operated by New Lantao Bus (NLB). It runs circular between HZMB Hong Kong Port and the Airport (Passenger Terminal Building), observing 11 SKIES on the return journey.
Route B4 is one of the new feeder routes to serve passengers travelling between the HZMB Hong Kong Port and the Hong Kong International Airport. It is one of the first 24-hour franchised bus routes in Hong Kong, together with Route B6, which commenced service on the same day.
History[]
The Transport Department (TD) released the Local Public Transport Arrangements at the Hong Kong Boundary Crossing Facilities of Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge in 2016, proposing to provide an additional green minibus (GMB) route to and from Tung Chung Station and two franchised bus routes to connect to the HZMB Hong Kong Boundary Crossing Facilities (or HZMB Hong Kong Port) on the opening day of the HZMB, one to and from the Airport and AsiaWorld-Expo, and the other to and from Sunny Bay Station.
Following an open tender process, the TD announced on 29 November 2017 that the franchise for the route between the HZMB Hong Kong Port and the Airport (Passenger Terminal) was awarded to New Lantao Bus (NLB) [2] with the number B4.
With the commissioning of the HZMB on 24 October 2018, various HZMB feeder routes were put into service at the same time. Route B4 operates 24 hours a day without overnight routes and does not charge higher fares during late night hours. It is a first for franchised bus services in Hong Kong, together with Route B6, which commenced service on the same day.
Route Change History[]
- 24 October 2018: To tie in with the commissioning of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge at 9:00am on that day, Route B4 commenced service from 9:00am on that day on a circular basis between the Hong Kong Port and the Airport (Passenger Terminal Building) and offered a concessionary fare of $6.0 in the first year of operation.[1][2]
- 24 October 2019: Concessionary fare expires and the normal fare was reverted to $7.5.[3]
- 8 February 2020: In view of the novel coronavirus pneumonia epidemic, the Government compresses cross-boundary passenger flow between Hong Kong and the Mainland by changing the service hours to 07:20 to 22:20, with one service every hour and suspending the overnight service.[4]
- 5 April 2020: Service hours was further shortened to 10:20 to 20:20 in view of the novel coronavirus pneumonia outbreak.[5]
- 20 April 2020: Service suspended until 7 January 2023 due to the novel coronavirus pneumonia outbreak, after which 24-hour service is resumed.[6][7][8]
- 26 November 2023: Detoured via the new Skycity Transport Terminal for HZMB Hong Kong Port direction from 5:30am onwards, with stops at "AsiaWorld-Expo" on Airport Expo Boulevard and "Hong Kong SkyCity Marriott Hotel" on Sky City Road East being cancelled. [9]
- 1 December 2023: Octopus interchange concessions with Resident Bus Route NR334 was introduced.[10]
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 1/2023, see here for the referenced link
| from HZMB Hong Kong Port | |
|---|---|
| Service Hours | Headways (mins) |
| Service provided 24/7. Headways are as follows: | |
| Daily | |
| 00:30 - 08:30 | 60 |
| 08:30 - 23:30 | 30 |
- This route provides Estimated Time of Arrival Enquiry Service.
Fares[]
| Journey/Boarding Stop | Fare |
|---|---|
| Full Fare | $8.3 |
| Fare Remarks |
|---|
|
Bus Deployments[]
This route is operated by two Young Man JNP6122G (YM01-24) single-decker buses.
Routing[]
Via: Shun Wui Road, Chek Lap Kok Road, Sky City Interchange, Cheong Lin Road, Airport South Interchange, Cheong Lin Road, Cheong Tat Road, Airport North Interchange, Sky City Road, Second Sky Street, SKYCITY Transport Terminal, Third Sky Street, Sky City Road East, Sky City Interchange, Chek Lap Kok Road, Shun Fai Road and Shun Wui Road
| New Lantao Bus Route B4 (HZMB Hong Kong Port ↺ Airport (Passenger Terminal Building)) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Area | Road | Bus Stop Name | Remarks |
| 1 | HZMB Hong Kong Port Artificial Island | HZMB Hong Kong Port | ||
| 2 | Airport (Terminal Area) | Cheong Tat Road | Airport (Passenger Terminal Building)  |
Circular Route Return Point |
| 3 | Cheong Tat Road |
|||
| 4 | Regal Airport Hotel | |||
| 5 | Airport (SkyCity) | Skycity Transport Terminal | ||
| 6 | HZMB Hong Kong Port Artificial Island | Shun Fai Road | HZMB Hong Kong Port Passenger Clearance Building | Alighting Only |
| 7 | HZMB Hong Kong Port | |||
Ridership[]
According to the Bus Route Planning Programme and other information, this ridership of this route are as follows:
- 2018: In the first ridership survey conducted on 11 November, the occupancy rate for the 3-4pm peak hour towards the HZMB Hong Kong Port was 16%; and the occupancy rate for the 9-10am peak hour towards the airport was 13%.[11] The following March, the Islands District Council documented that the daily ridership of this route was around 1800 - 3200 during November and no additional trips were made.[12]
- 2019: In a ridership survey conducted on 19 March, the occupancy rate for the 7-8pm peak hour towards the HZMB Hong Kong Port was 25%, whereas the occupancy rate for the 12pm-1pm peak hour towards the airport was 22%.[11]
Gallery[]
A Route B4 bus has just arrived at HZMB Hong Kong Port
A Route B4 bus is departing from HZMB Hong Kong Port
Enviro400 Euro V may run in Route B4 on a supporting basis
More pictures, photos and related information about this article are available in the following Gallery Page:
NLB Route B4 (Edit)
Remarks[]
Related Articles[]
References[]
- ↑ New Lantao Bus Company (1973) Ltd., "New Route Operation - B4" [News Release], 19 October 2018.
- ↑ Transport Department HKSARG, "Introduction of NLB Route No. B4 (Hong Kong Port (HKP) of Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB) – Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA)) CTB Route No. B5 (HKP of HZMB – Sunny Bay Public Transport Interchange) NLB Route No. B6 (HKP of HZMB – Tung Chung Mun Tung Estate)" [Traffic Advice], 23 October 2018.
- ↑ New Lantao Bus Company (1973) Ltd., "Termination of Promotional Full Fare of NLB Route B4 & B6" [News Release], 18 October 2019.
- ↑ 【武漢肺炎】深圳灣口岸的跨境巴士將暫停服務 ([Wuhan Pneumonia] Cross-boundary bus services at Shenzhen Bay Port will be suspended), Headline Daily, 6 February 2020.
- ↑ New Lantao Bus Company (1973) Ltd., "NLB Route B4 and B6 Temporary Adjust of Service Hours" [News Release], 4 April 2020.
- ↑ Transport Department HKSARG, "Special Transport Arrangements for Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Hong Kong Port" [Traffic Advice], 17 April 2020.
- ↑ New Lantao Bus Company (1973) Ltd., "NLB Route B4 Temporarily Suspended Service" [News Release], 17 April 2020.
- ↑ Transport Department HKSARG, "Transport Arrangements for Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Hong Kong Port" [Traffic Advice], 6 January 2023.
- ↑ New Lantao Bus Company (1973) Ltd., "NLB Route B4 Alternation of Routeing" [News Release], 20 November 2023.
- ↑ Park Island Transport Company Limited, "NR334 Set Up New Interchange Fare Concessions Scheme Connect with the HZMB Hong Kong Port" [Passenger Notice], November 2023.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 財務委員會審核二零一九至二零年度開支預算管制人員的答覆（局長：運輸及房屋局局長第 9 節會議） (Replies to initial written questions raised by Finance Committee Members in examining the Estimates of Expenditure 2019-20 (Session 9 of the Secretary for Transport and Housing)), The Legislative Council, p. 466.
- ↑ 有關港珠澳大橋開通後的交通情況的提問（運輸署書面回覆） (Questions on the traffic situation after the commissioning of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (written reply from Transport Department)), The Council of the Islands District Council Paper No. IDC 127/2018.
External Links[]
Template:Ref-NLBTemplate:Pig-NLB
| Bus routes terminating or turning back in Islands District (shown below are destination districts) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Note: (#) MTR Sunny Bay Station, Penny's Bay (Hong Kong Disneyland Terminus) and Ma Wan are all located in Tsuen Wan District, please refer to the District Council Constituency Boundary Map. Italic: Specific service hours/part-time route; →: Outbound service only; ←: Inbound service only | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| List of routes connecting Boundary Control Points | |
|---|---|
| Lok Ma Chau Control Point (connecting to Huanggang Port) | <Cross-boundary Shuttle Buses> Huang Bus <Cross-boundary Coaches> Kam Sheung Road All China Express • China-Hong Kong Express (Tsuen Wan) • Yau Tsim 24-hour Cross-border Express • Mong Kok All China Express • Kwun Tong 24-hour Cross-border Express • Wan Chai All China Express • Wonderland Express • Huanggang Cross-boundary Bus Tung Chung Citygate Route <Late-night GMB> 44B • 79S • 616S |
| Shenzhen Bay Control Point (connects to Shenzhen Bay Port of Entry) | <Local Services> Franchised Buses: B2 • B2P • B2X • B3 • B3A • B3M • B3X Green Minibuses: 618 <Cross-boundary Coaches> Trans-Island Prince Edward-Shenzhen Bay Route • Trans-Island Tsim Sha Tsui-Shenzhen Bay Route • Shenzhen Bay Cross-border Express • East Kowloon Express • Trans-Island Sheung Wan-Shenzhen Bay Route • Trans-Island Causeway Bay-Shenzhen Bay Route • Shenzhen Bay-Ocean Park Route • Shenzhen Bay Cross-boundary Bus Shenzhen Bay Route |
| Lok Ma Chau Spur Line Control Point (connects to Futian Port of Entry) | |
| Sha Tau Kok Control Point (connects to Shatoujiao Port of Entry) | |
| Man Kam To Control Point (connects to Shenzhen Wenjindu Port of Entry) | <Cross-boundary Coaches> Man Kam To Express |
| Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB) Control Point (connects to HZMB Macau Frontier Post and Zhuhai Port) | <Local Services> Franchised Buses:A10 • A11 • A12 • A17 • A21 • A22 • A23 • A25 • A26 • A28 • A29 • A30 • A31 • A32 • A33X • A34 • A35 • A36 • A37 • A38 • A41 • A41P • A42 • A43 • A46 • A47X • B4 • B5 • B6 • N35 • NA11 • NA12 • NA20 • NA21 • NA29 • NA31 • NA32 • NA33 • NA36 • NA37 • NA40 • NA41 • NA43 • NA47 Green Minibuses: 901 <Cross-boundary shuttle buses/coaches> Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Shuttle Bus <Cross-border Coaches> One Bus • Hong Kong - Macao Express • Kwun Tong (apm)-Macau Route • EEBus HZMB-Macau Route |
| Heung Yuen Wai Boundary Control Point (connects to Shenzhen Liantang Port) | |
| HKIA SkyPier Terminal (connects to HZMB Macau Frontier Post and Zhuhai Port) | <Cross-boundary Coaches> Macau HK Airport Direct • Zhuhai HK Airport Direct (Direct access to the restricted area of the airport without immigration clearance in Hong Kong) |