ADL Enviro 500 MMC Facelift @59M

A new face of KMB fleet is Alexander Dennis Enviro 500 MMC with Facelift body.

One of the members was spotted on 59M (TV3120 ATENU 813)

The last days of wheelchair not accessible buses

The non-low floor bus fleet of KMB is getting smaller and smaller.

Yesterday (6 Aug 2015) , some Volvo Olympian 12m are retried.

This photo was taken on 4 Aug 2015, HG3923 (3AV311) was running 87K. Now it is history.

Dennis Dragon 11m are already disappeared in the fleet. 

Bus for the Year of Sheep / Goat / Ram (2015)

Volvo B9TL with Wright Body (SR8808 AVBWU317) @ KMB 68E

I just captured it in an early morning, near Tsing Yi Station

25 years of Dennis Dart

Dennis Dart was introduced in 1989 in UK, and arrived HK the next year. Time flies and it is already 25 years since its first introduction.

(EP5213) This is one of the first two sample of KMB fleet. The length and bodywork are unique. It is 8.9m long with a Carlyle body.

The Carlyle body work is more common in China Motor Bus fleet and subsequently the New World First Bus (NWFB). The standard length now becomes 10m. When this photo was taken, IFC was still under construction. 

An example of Dennis Dart 10m with Carlyle body is still survived in Citybus private fleet as of 2014.

This is the production version of KMB Dart in 1993, also 10m long, but now in Duple bodywork.

Another member. When the Hong Kong Science Park was newly opened, many of them serve route 272K from University Station to there. They carried a full advertisement of the Science Park.

In 1996, the wheelchair accessible version has been introduced. It was still 10m long, but will Plaxton body.

Dennis Dart SLF even served in Lantau Island, but roads in Lantau Island was too harsh for them.

Dennis Dart SLF has been further extended to 11.7m. This bus serves Park Island until now.

Even in Discovery Bay

A first hand NWFB Dennis Dart, they are near retirement as of 2015.

NWFB 2063 HY7985 Dennis Dart 10.1m

Dennis Enviro 200 can be considered as the evolution from Dennis Dart. It is 10.4 m long in KMB fleet.

Single door version

Single-deckers on KMB 87K

A single-deck Volvo B7RLE (AVC56 RG7354) is seen KMB 87K today.

On another day, another Volvo B7RLE AVC27 (PH381) is also spotted.

How, even Scania K230UB also comes to serve 87K (ASC25 PB7069).

A meeting with Leyland Olympian Training Bus

Met with ET7856, a KMB's Leyland Olympian, now being a training bus of the company.

Leyland Albion EV55CL & EVK41L -- The last single-decker bus without air-conditioning of KMB

On an exhibition outside Hong Kong Museum of History

BM 248, running on 64K from Tai Po Train Station to Yuen Long

An advertisement introducing Dennis Dart SLF from Kowloon Motor Bus in Hong Kong (1996-2014)

Dated back to 1996, this advertisement introduced the first type of wheel-chair accessible bus in Hong Kong, Dennis Dart SLF. Since then, the HK bus services had entered the era of wheel-chair accessible. Some of the first batch were sold to the bus company of Park Island. This batch begins to retire in 2014.

Daimler A outside City Hall of Hong Kong (丹拿A型)

In Hong Kong, the age of senior citizen is 65.
You are now a senior citizen.

4961 (1949-)

Dennis Lance 丹尼士長矛巴士 (AN) 1993-2010

At the time of 1993, the Dennis Falcon, which had been serving for Kai Tak airport routes for 8 years, were getting old. The airbus service also required expansion. A total number of 24 Dennis Lance had been ordered, in which 12 were single-door and the remaining were double-door. The single-door version were fitted with baggage stand and served in the airport routes. The double-door version are used as city shuttles.

When the new airport in Chek Lap Kok was open in 1998. Some of these single-door Lance had been transferred to Long Win bus, also serving route from Tung Chung to Airport. The others had gone back to city. All Dennis Lance are retired in 2010.

Although the number of Dennis Lance is not so large, it is still influential. The highly successful Dennis Trident is derived from it.

FU 5072 was served as a training bus at that day. It was usually served in 110 cross harbour route. All Dennis Lance in Hong Kong were fit with Alexander PS bodywork.

TIB919H, a Dennis Lance of SMRT, is till serving in Singapore as of 2011. The bus was made in Malaysia under UMW-Dennis, and is fit with a Duple Metsec body.

More on KMB Leyland Olympian A/C 11m 1988-2011 利蘭奧林匹克(奧林比安)

 EU6705 at 73x. In the early days, Leyland Olympian appears in nearly all routes with air-conditioned services, if a 11m bus could run.

ET 7856 and FN 7831. Same model, same route, same advertisement, just different front.

EZ 8310, the front

EZ 8310 at 264M, the rear

Another example of the final batch, FN6884

Mercedes-Benz O305 in KMB 63M

They have gone for nearly 10 years, the Mercedes-Benz O305 in Kowloon Motor Bus, the longest 2-axle double-decker. In their last period of services, most of them are served in Yuen Long and Sheung Shui region of Hong Kong.

This photo was taken in Tsing Yi MTR station aroun 2002. The bus was running the route 63M, from Tsing Yi to Yuen Long. This route was also cancelled years ago. The bus and the route become historical.

Mercedes-Benz O305 (1983-2002)

 DG5565 (ME35) at 63M

Rear part

Dennis Dragon Non-A/C 12m

Once upon a time they ruled the Cross Harbour Tunnel, they were the Dennis Dragon 12m non-AC, the three-door monsters. With a capacity of over 140, most of them were served in the busiest routes until their retirement in 2004. A number of them have been converted into training buses and continue to serve in the bus company. 3N1-3 were in Alexander Body with 2 doors. The remaining ones were in Duple Metsec Body with 3 doors.

DM 3103, the last 12m Dennis Dragon Non-AC, before its retirement, it usually served in routes of Kwai Tsing District.

Another angle of DM3103

AL 1,DX 2437, The first successful air-conditioned double decker~ Leyland Olympian 11 m

She is the ancestor of today's air-conditioned double decker, AL1, the Leyland Olympian. She was put in service in 1988 and retired in 2005. Her contribution is that the air-conditioning and driving system are both powered by the same engine, leading to good operation efficiency. Nowadays almost all air-conditioned double decker are powered by the similar way.

Because of the similar body and the seats as those non-air conditioned, some passengers may think this bus is converted from non-air conditioned bus, but the body work of this bus is original.

 As a spare bus, it served almost all routes of Li Chi Kok Depot. This picture was taken when it served 249M.

At 31B

MCW Metrobus Mark 2 11m

I just found that they suddenly disappeared, but still, as in yesterday, they took me back to school.

MCW Metrobus Mark 2 never had air-conditioned version, but they do have a powerful, hill climbing one in Hong Kong. Although they cannot run fast, but they can climb high in Hong Kong.

The last bus retired in 2007.

Kowloon Motor Bus 43A, the route that I took everyday when I was in secondary school, has already been fully air-conditioned.