Sai Kung P.L.B. (Maxicab) (No. 1 & 2) Company Limited (西貢（1、2號）（專線）小巴有限公司 [Remark 1][Remark 2]) is the first two green minibus operators in the New Territories based in Sai Kung Town Centre. It currently operates a total of 7 GMB routes, including one overnight route, running between Sai Kung Town Centre, northern rural areas of Sai Kung and Kowloon East.
The company's office is currently located at Room A, 2/F, Hop Yick House, 74 Fuk Man Road, Sai Kung[2], with a hotline of 2792 6433 and a fax number of 2791 0919.
History[]
The Sai Kung (No. 1 & 2) GMB Company Limited was founded in 1981 by former DAB member and Sai Kung District Councillor Hiew Moo Siew, who was a minibus driver at that time, together with other minibus owners[1] and received the Passenger Service Licence (PSL) held in the name of an individual in 1988. The current Sai Kung GMB routes 1 and 2, together with Routes 3 and 4, were the forerunners of GMBs in the New Territories[3] when they first came into service in November 1979, with Route 1 being the company's main route.
Route 1 was the company's main route, with Sai Kung Town Centre near the public pier as its terminus, and was the first inter-district GMB route with feeder service to MTR stations. At the early stage of its operation, it provided a short-working feeder service to Choi Hung Station, competing with KMB Route 92, while the main route had Telford Gardens as its terminus[4]. As for supplementary services, they were split into 1A/1S and 1M in 1997 and 2000 respectively; 1M no longer operated since 2002 due to the overlap with Route 1A, and ceased operation in 2010. Route 2 is an intra-district route between Sai Kung (Yi Chun Street) and Ho Chung.
On 1 March 1982, Routes 6, 7, 8 and 9 were introduced to serve Sai Kung East Country Park, providing great convenience to people travelling to the rural areas of Sai Kung. After service reorganisation on 30 October 1983, Routes 7 and 9 are still in service, with Route 7 being extended to Sai Kung Pier in 2003 to facilitate feeder services to other districts.
On 7 June 2000, two LPG minibuses were introduced to Sai Kung P.L.B. on a trial basis to serve its routes.
In response to the occupation of the Oscar By The Sea and the commissioning of the Tseung Kwan O Line, Sai Kung P.L.B. introduced a new route 109M in 2002, running between the estate and Hang Hau Station, which is the only route operated by Sai Kung P.L.B. outside the Sai Kung Town Centre.
In 2006, Sai Kung GMB employed about 200 staff and operated seven routes with 61 minibuses (of which 18 were owned in the name of the company and the rest by shareholders). According to 2008 figures, the company's annual turnover was about $60 million.[5]
The initial logo adopted by Sai Kung P.L.B.'s Facebook page, which was replaced in November 2018
Sai Kung P.L.B. set up an official Facebook page on 19 January 2018 under the Chinese name "西貢（1、2號）（專線）小巴有限公司", making it the fifth GMB operator in Hong Kong to set up an official Facebook page[6]; and set up an official website on 26 January.
The Sai Kung East Country Park Holiday Special Route 9A commenced service on 22 July 2018 between Pak Tam Chung and East Dam of High Island Reservoir.
Routes[]
| List of routes operated by Sai Kung P.L.B. (Maxicab) (No. 1 & 2) Company Limited | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Route no. | Termini | Remarks | |
| 1 | Sai Kung Pier ↔ Telford Gardens ● | Daily service | |
| 1A | Sai Kung Pier ↔ Choi Hung (Rhythm Garden) ● | Daily service | |
| 1S | Daily overnight service | ||
| 2 | Sai Kung (Yi Chun Street) ↔ Ho Chung ● | Daily service | |
| Sai Kung (Yi Chun Street) ↺ Kai Ham ● | Special trip, daily service | ||
| Pak Kong → Sai Kung (Yi Chun Street) ● | Special trip, daily morning service | ||
| 7 | Sai Kung Pier ↔ Hoi Ha ● | Daily service | |
| 9 | Sai Kung Pier ↔ Lady MacLehose Holiday Village ● | Daily service | |
| 9A | Pak Tam Chung ↔ East Dam of High Island Reservoir ● | Sunday and public holiday daytime service | |
| 109M | Oscar By The Sea ↔ Hang Hau Station ● | Daily service | |
| List of routes previously operated by Sai Kung P.L.B. (Maxicab) (No. 1 & 2) Company Limited | ||
|---|---|---|
| Route no. | Termini | Remarks |
| 1M | Sai Kung ↺ Choi Hung Station | Cancelled on 20 June 2010 |
| 6 | Lady MacLehose Holiday Village ↔ Pak Tam Chung | Cancelled on 30 October 1983 |
| 8 | Lady MacLehose Holiday Village ↔ Wong Shek Pier | Cancelled on 30 October 1983 |
Related incidents[]
Since 2006, Sai Kung P.L.B. has been involved in a number of litigations with shareholders and labour disputes, among others:
- 17 November 2006: The Chairman of the Board of Directors, Hiew Moo-siew, was filed in the High Court by minority shareholders seeking over HK$22 million in damages for allegedly abusing his power for personal gain by taking unauthorised extra remuneration and using the company's minibus to give free rides to Next Magazine and Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Company Limited (HAECO)'s staff to meals at a restaurant in Sai Kung run by a close friend of theirs.[7]
- 21 December 2006: 70 Sai Kung P.L.B. drivers, dissatisfied with the employer's unilateral change of contract, resulting in an average monthly income reduction of $2,000, went on strike in protest on the same day. Through the mediation of the Labour Department, the Transport Department and Legislative Council Members, both parties made concessions and eventually reached a consensus to settle the strike.[8] As a result of the strike, KMB provided a temporary service, Route 92P, to divert passengers on that day.
- 6 July 2011: Hiew Moo-siew was accused of misappropriating company funds with three other directors to donate to a Mainland primary school sponsored in his own name and to buy life insurance, etc. The court ruled that he had breached his duties as a director and was required to pay a total of HK$17.3 million in compensation to the Sai Kung P.L.B..[9]
- 29 November 2011: Sai Kung P.L.B. filed a petition in the High Court for the bankruptcy of Hiew.[10]
- 10 June 2022: In response to the closure of Pak Tam Road in Sai Kung due to landslides, the Transport Department (TD) arranged temporary GMB services between Hoi Ha and Wong Shek Pier, and between Uk Tau and Wong Shek Pier, to facilitate passengers to connect with the emergency ferry to Ma Liu Shui.[11][12]
Gallery[]
_(No._1_%26_2)_Company_teach_passengers_go_to_East_Dam_of_High_Island_Reservoir_06-03-2022.JPG "Sai Kung P.L.B. (Maxicab) (No. 1 & 2) Company teach passengers go to East Dam of High Island Reservoir 06-03-2022.JPG (4.47 MB)")
Remarks[]
Related articles[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "小巴司機變廣州政協" (Minibus driver becomes Guangzhou PCC member), Apple Daily, 7 July 2011
- ↑ The former address is Shop 4, G/F, Kam Po Court, 2 Sai Kung Hoi Pong Square.
- ↑ Routes 3 and 4 are now operated by Kimwise Limited.
- ↑ The terminus of New Territories GMB Route 1 was originally located in the lay-by shaped bus terminus, which was relocated to a new covered terminus after the opening of Telford Plaza in 1997.
- ↑ Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Court of First Instance High Court Companies Liquidation Cases No. 358 of 2008
- ↑ The first four GMB operators to set up Facebook pages are Perfect Gold, Chit Fai Motors, Holy Gain and Sun Cheong Transportation. which were set up on on 23 May 2012, 14 November 2014, 7 April 2016 and 22 November 2016 respectively.
- ↑ 太陽報 - 支取額外酬金 小巴免費載《壹週刊》員工 小股東控區議員索償2200萬 (Sun Post - Extra remuneration for minibuses carrying Next Magazine staff for free: Minority shareholders claim $22 million against District Council members), 18 November 2006.
- ↑ 蘋果日報 - 西貢專線小巴罷駛 (Apple Daily - Sai Kung GMB drivers went on strike), 22 December 2006.
- ↑ 蘋果日報 - 任小巴公司董事 擅買保險多出雙糧 挪用公款區議員賠 1730萬 (Apple Daily - Appointment of director of minibus company, taking out insurance without authorisation and overpayment of double pay: DC who embezzled public funds had to compensate $17.3 million), 7 July 2011.
- ↑ 東方日報 - 小巴公司入稟申請區議員破產 (Oriental Daily News - GMB operator to apply for bankruptcy of a District Councillor), 20 November 2011.
- ↑ "西貢臨時小巴服務" (Temporary GMB service in Sai Kung), HKitalk.net post, 10 June 2022.
- ↑ "來往黃石緊急渡輪 Emergency Ferry service", Post from Facebook page of Tam Yi-pui Ben, 9 June 2022.
External links[]
Sai Kung PLB and Sai Kung P.L.B. (Maxicab) (No. 1 & 2) Company Limited