Rickshaw Sightseeing Bus

Rickshaw Sightseeing Bus (人力車觀光巴士) was once a franchised open-top bus sightseeing route brand under Citybus. It was established by New World First Bus in 2009 and was changed to be operated by Citybus from 1 July 2023.

This tourist-oriented bus has been modified with a green tent on the upper deck tail that replicates a Hong Kong rickshaw, which, together with the rickshaw motif on the body, makes the bus look like a rickshaw travelling to and from many attractions and monuments in Hong Kong and Kowloon.

On 23 July 2024, the "Rickshaw Sightseeing Bus" branding was officially repackaged into "HK City Sightseeing" (觀光城巴).

Introduction[]

NWFB H1 1217 KN8036 — Tourists travelling on the upper deck of open-top buses through the Cross Harbour Tunnel can experience the "hot dog" buses travelling on the cross-harbour tunnel routes in the old days

Sightseeing by open-top buss in Hong Kong has always required joining a tour group or chartering a chartered bus, and sightseeing bus services operated in the form of tour group packages do not allow passengers to board and alight at will along the way, thus preventing them from realising the true meaning of self-guided travel.

NWFB has introduced a franchised sightseeing bus service with stops along the way, which allows travellers to control the length of stay at each scenic spot. Passengers can enjoy the scenery along the route and make use of the bus service to travel to and from many attractions on both sides of the Victoria Harbour, as well as experiencing the fun of open-top bus travel and sightseeing at affordable prices.

NWFB won the Gold Award in the Marketing PR (Services) category of the 9th China Best PR Case Competition organised by the China International Public Relations Association in 2010 for its innovative branding and promotion strategy for its rickshaw tour bus service. ^[1]

With the 2023 Citybus and NWFB Franchised Bus Network Merger, the Rickshaw Sightseeing Bus brand was inherited by Citybus.

Regular routes[]

Rickshaw Sightseeing Bus was the second batch of franchised buss to operate with open-top buses after the 15C routes. It is also the only remaining Citybus (and pre-merger NWFB) regular route to use open-top buses, as well as the first NWFB route to offer a day pass concession. Passengers can purchase a $200 "All Day Pass" for unlimited rides on Rickshaw Sightseeing Bus routes for two consecutive service days.

At the moment before the brand was abandoned, Citybus operated the following two “Rickshaw Sightseeing Bus" routes:

Rickshaw Sightseeing Bus Routes List
Route	Starting and ending points	Service hours	Major attractions
H1 Heritage Route (懷舊之旅)	Central (Star Ferry) ↔ Tsim Sha Tsui	From Central: 11:00-19:00 From Tsim Sha Tsui: 12:30-17:30	Hollywood Road (Man Mo Temple/Dr. Sun Yat-sen Historical Trail/Tai Kwun), Lan Kwai Fong, Statue Square, Admiralty Station, Queen's Road East, Causeway Bay (Happy Valley Racecourse/Times Square/Hysan Place), Golden Bauhinia Square, Avenue of Stars, Tsim Sha Tsui East Waterfront
H2 Cultural Route (文化之旅)	Tsim Sha Tsui → Central (Star Ferry)	From Tsim Sha Tsui: 19:30-20:30	Nathan Road (Langham Place), West Kowloon Cultural District, Canton Road (Harbour City/1881), Tsim Sha Tsui East Waterfront, Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre

Cancelled routes[]

List of cancelled Rickshaw Sightseeing Bus routes
Route	Starting and ending points	Service hours	Major attractions
H1A Market Route (市集之旅)	Central (Star Ferry) ↔ Tsim Sha Tsui	From Central: 10:30	Admiralty (Hong Kong Park/Tea Ware Museum), Morrison Hill Road (Bowrington Road Market), Nathan Road (Temple Street), Sai Yee Street (Mong Kok Flower Market), Langham Place, Shanghai Street (Nelson Street Open Air Market/Yau Ma Tei Fruit Market), Peking Road (Star Ferry/Hong Kong Cultural Centre)
H2 Metropolis Route (動感之旅)	Central (Star Ferry) ↔ Causeway Bay	From Central: 10:15-21:45 銅鑼灣開出： 10:30-22:00	Causeway Bay (Times Square/Hysan Place), Hennessy Road (Bowrington Road Market), Admiralty (Hong Kong Park/Tea Ware Heritage Museum), St John's Cathedral

Special bus routes[]

Since New Year's Eve 2009, NWFB has operated special bus routes under the name of ‘Rickshaw Tour Bus’ every New Year's Eve (no service in 2019 and 2020) for the public to celebrate the festive season. Starting from 2022, the special festive routes were extended to cover the Mid-Autumn Festival, Halloween and Christmas, and in 2023, to coincide with the end of NWFB's franchise, a special service was launched to allow the public to look back and reminisce about NWFB's past.

The special Rickshaw Sightseeing Bus routes for the past years are listed below:

List of special Rickshaw Sightseeing Bus routes
Route	Starting and ending points	Service hours	Major attractions
H2A	Central (City Hall) ↔ Causeway Bay (HK Central Library)	New Year's Eve every year from 2009-2013	Queensway, Hennessy Road, Yee Wo Street
H1B "Farewell to NWFB" Open-top Tour	Central (Star Ferry ) ↔ Tsim Sha Tsui	Before merger of NWFB and Citybus in 2023	To Tsim Sha Tsui: Wan Chai, Chai Wan, Shau Kei Wan To Central: Wong Chuk Hang, Wah Fu Estate, Pok Fu Lam, Sheung Wan
H1S	Central (Star Ferry) ↔ Tsim Sha Tsui	New Year's Eve every year from 2014-2016	Admiralty, Wan Chai, Jordan, Mong Kok
H1S	Central (Star Ferry) ↔ Tsim Sha Tsui	During the Mid-Autumn Festival in 2022-2023	Admiralty, Wan Chai To Tsim Sha Tsui: Jordan, Mong Kok To Central: Causeway Bay
H1W	Central (Star Ferry) ↔ Mong Kok (Yim Po Fong Street)	During Halloween in 2022	Sheung Wan, Admiralty, Wan Chai To Mong Kok: Hung Hom, Ho Man Tin To Central: Tsim Sha Tsui, Causeway Bay, Happy Valley
H2C	Central (Star Ferry) ↔ Tsim Sha Tsui	During Christmas in 2022 and New Year Day in 2023	Admiralty, Wan Chai
H2K Night Scene Hong Kong (夜賞香港)	Central (Star Ferry) ↺ West Kowloon Cultural District	During "Night Vibes Hong Kong" from 2023 to 2024	To West Kowloon: Wan Chai, Jordan To Central: Tsim Sha Tsui, Causeway Bay
H2S	HSR West Kowloon Station Loading and Unloading Area ↺ Causeway Bay	New Year's Eve each year in 2017-2018, 2021-2023	Central, Wan Chai, Mong Kok, Yau Ma Tei

Past service details of "Rickshaw Sightseeing Bus"
The "Rickshaw Sightseeing Bus" service initially comprised of two routes: Heritage Route (懷舊之旅)^[2]:H1 (Central (Star Ferry ) ↔ HKU) Major attractions: Hollywood Road, Dr. Sun Yat-sen Museum, HKU, Sai Ying Pun Seafood Street Metropolis Route (動感之旅)^[2]: H2 (Central (Star Ferry) ↔ Causeway Bay) Major attractions: Golden Bauhinia Square, Causeway Bay Shopping Area, Queen's Road East (Daytime departures)/Hennessy Road (Nighttime departures), St John's Cathedral Single journey fare: HK$8.7 ($4.4 for children/elderly) As both Routes H1 and H2 are non-circular routes, passengers need to pay the fare for two journeys at Central (Star Ferry and Pokfield Road/Happy Valley Racecourse. Passengers may also purchase a "Day Ticket" for $50.0, which entitles them to unlimited rides on Routes H1 and H2 within the service day (if the validity day is on New Year's Eve, the One Day Ticket would also be applicable on Route H2A).

Ticketing[]

History[]

"Rickshaws"[]

Comments from the public[]

Related incidents[]

Notes and References[]

↑ New World First Bus Services Limited, "「人力車觀光巴士」融入地道人情與創新意念新巴榮獲營銷公關(服務)金獎" (ickshaw Sightseeing Bus" incorporates local people and innovative ideas NWFB won the Gold Award in the category of Marketing PR (Service)) [News Release], 5 July 2010.
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 At the beginning of the operation of Routes H1 and H2, the name of the routes used to be "Tour", which was later changed to "Route".

External links[]

Official information[]

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[1] New World First Bus Services Limited, "「人力車觀光巴士」融入地道人情與創新意念新巴榮獲營銷公關(服務)金獎" (ickshaw Sightseeing Bus" incorporates local people and innovative ideas NWFB won the Gold Award in the category of Marketing PR (Service)) [News Release], 5 July 2010.

[oldname-2] 2.0 ^2.1 At the beginning of the operation of Routes H1 and H2, the name of the routes used to be "Tour", which was later changed to "Route".

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