KMB Route 71B

KMB Route 71B is a circular bus route that serves Tai Po. It is operated by Kowloon Motor Bus (KMB), and is known as the shortest and cheapest franchised bus route in Hong Kong. This route is served by air-conditioned buses only.

Route history

Route 71B commenced service on 27 June 1991. The original terminus was located at Tai Po Central, and the bus fare was $0.5. The route brought convenience to the residents of Fu Heng Estate, who were able to interchange at Tai Po Central to routes 72X, 73X, 74X, and 75X.

The fare was adjusted on 5 April 1993 to $0.7. Route 271 became a regular route that operated daily since 5 November 1993, so route 71B lost its purpose of a feeder route. The fare was raised from $0.7 to $1.0 on the same day. However, $1.0 was still a relatively low fare; the fare standard for bus routes under 3 kilometres was $1.6 in 1993. Therefore, KMB requested a fare adjustment to $1.5, but was turned down.

Many buses at that time were already air-conditioned, but air-conditioning of route 71B has created a major disagreement between Tai Po District Council and KMB. Converting from regular buses to air-conditioned buses only means fare raise, because the route is very short and residents did not mind taking non-air-conditioned buses. KMB planned to convert the route to air-conditioned buses only in 2002, but was declined again. It was not until December 31, 2004 that the route was converted, but the Tai Po District Council demanded the fare be dropped because the fare was too high.

Citybus Route 12S replaced 71B as the shortest franchised bus route in Hong Kong after it commenced services on 1 February 2000. Route 71B was again known as the shortest bus route after 12S was discontinued on 3 May 2004. Since 31 December 2004, the new fare of $1.7 replaced Citybus Routes 97A and 98 as the cheapest franchised bus route in Hong Kong operated solely by air-conditioned buses.

Route information

General

From Fu Heng

• Air-Cond. Fare: $2.0
• Journey time (min.): 15
• Journey distance (km): 2.3
• Daily operating hour: 05:35-00:30

Frequency

From Fu Heng

Mondays - Saturdays

• 05:35-05:50: 7-8 mins.
• 05:50-00:00: 10-12 mins.
• 00:00-00:30: 15 mins.

Sundays and Public Holidays

• 05:35-06:20: 15 mins.
• 06:20-00:00: 10-12 mins.
• 00:00-00:30: 15 mins.

Routing

From Fu Heng: Chung On Road, Nam Wan Road, On Po Road, On Po Road, Nam Wan Road, Chung On Road.

Route stops

From Fu Heng to Tai Po Central (Circular)

• Fu Heng
• Chung Nga Road
• Tai Po Central
• Fu Heng

References

1. Kowloon Motor Bus Route 71B
2. Eric Lo. KMB Air-Conditioned Route 71B. 681 Bus Terminal. Retrieved 20 March 2009.