New World First Bus
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Alexander Dennis Enviro500 in May 2010
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| Parent |
Chow Tai Fook Enterprises NWS Holdings |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1 September 1998 |
| Service area | Hong Kong |
| Service type | Bus services |
| Alliance | Citybus |
| Routes | 51 |
| Depots | 4 |
| Fleet | 709 (October 2015) |
| Daily ridership | 489,000 (2012) |
| Website | www.nwstbus.com.hk |
New World First Bus Services Limited (NWFB) (Chinese: 新世界第一巴士服務有限公司) is the third largest bus operator in Hong Kong.
NWFB was established in 1998, taking over 88 China Motor Bus services on 1 September 1998 on Hong Kong Island. It is owned by Chow Tai Fook Enterprises and NWS Holdings.
Before NWFB commenced, franchised bus service in Hong Kong Island was provided by China Motor Bus (CMB) (franchisee since 1933) and Citybus (franchisee since 1991). In the early 1990s, the service levels of CMB were in decline. Therefore, the Government of Hong Kong started to introduce new competitors by transferring the franchise of CMB routes to other companies.
As a result, Citybus became the 2nd franchisee of the bus service on Hong Kong Island. Over 40 routes were transferred between 1991 and 1995.
In spite of the loss of many profitable routes, the service of China Motor Bus did not show any significant improvement. In February 1998, the government announced the franchise for all 140 routes operated by China Motor Bus would not be reviewed when it expired 31 August 1998. Eighty-eight of the routes were placed to open tender, 12 routes were transferred directly to Citybus, one cross-harbour route to Kowloon Motor Bus, and the remaining routes were cancelled.
Six companies lodged bids:
New World First Holdings was considered a dark horse as it was the only bidder with no local bus operation experience. However, New World First Holdings was awarded a five-year franchise in March 1998 with commitments of new facilities, improved service standards and employment of CMB staff.
During the handover in mid-1998, NWFB faced a lot of difficulties since China Motor Bus was reluctant to cooperate with New World First Bus. NWFB commenced operating at midnight on 1 September 1998 after a series of negotiations and with help from the government. The first official NWFB departure took place at 00:15 on route N8 with the first new bus in the fleet, no 1001. However NWFB had already started its operation of other non-overnight routes at midnight as CMB refused to operate after that time.
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