KMB Route 1

An Alexander Dennis Enviro500 seen on Route 1.

KMB Route 1 is a busy bus route operated in Kowloon, Hong Kong. It is run by Kowloon Motor Bus and connects Star Ferry and Chuk Yuen Estate in Wong Tai Sin. The bus via Tsim Sha Tsui, Yau Ma Tei, Mong Kok, Kowloon City and Lok Fu.

Major milestones in the service history

The route was started in the 1920s, then known as route 6. The route served between Tsim Sha Tsui and Kowloon City. Fares were divided into first and second classes at that time. The route ceased operation during the Battle of Hong Kong in December of 1941 and resumed January 10, 1942 as the Japanese military government in Hong Kong reorganized the bus services.

The route was renumbered route 1 in October, 1942. August 12, 1943, the route was shortened to serve between Tsim Sha Tsui and Waterloo Road due to shortage of fuel. After the Japanese occupation this route was only bus route remaining in service in Kowloon at the end of the occupation.. In mid-February, 1946 KMB resumed the route. The first four double decker buses in Hong Kong were allocated April 17, 1949 to the route as the population in Yau Ma Tei, Mong Kok, Kowloon City increased rapidly. The route was one of only few routes still in service in Kowloon during the 1967 riots.

In 1972 the route was extended to Wang Tau Hom to serve the newly developed areas. And in 1976 the route was extended to Lok Fu to serve the newly developed areas. In 1984 the route was further extended to Chuk Yuen Estate, its current terminus.

As the population in Yau Ma Tei, Mong Kok, Kowloon City, which are in the centre of Kowloon Peninsula, has increased steadily since World War II, buses on this route are often full, and becomes one of major bus routes in Kowloon.

Fleet

Single decker buses were used before WWII, and double deckers joined the route from 1949. Air conditioned services started from 3 August 1992, and since 2003, more and more Alexander Dennis Enviro500 buses have been deployed in the route. The route is currently operated with 18 double decker buses in which 16 are air conditioned, and some Leyland Olympian buses which are non-air conditioned.

Route information

Routing

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to KMB Route 1.
  1. ↑ KMB Route Search Engine PDA Version
  2. ↑ KMB Route Search Engine PDA Version
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