We took the 680 from Sha Tin to Admiralty. By the driver’s seat was a small sign giving the name of the Bus Captain serving you today — Captain Chen. It isn’t a flourish for tourists: Hong Kong’s bus companies really do call their drivers Captains. But the idea of being served on a public bus is a novel and rather nice one to meet with fresh eyes — a small courtesy that says something about how the city sees the job. Like a pilot or a ship’s master, the Captain’s task is to get a great many people somewhere safely and on time.
The service was brisk to the point of thrilling — Captain Chen pulled away smartly, sometimes before everyone had found a seat — but the route itself was a good lesson in how the city moves: out of Sha Tin, through the tunnel into East Kowloon, and across to the Island in almost no time. It was only when we reached Causeway Bay that Hong Kong did what Hong Kong does, and the traffic thickened until walking would have been faster.
That’s the honest trade with the buses here. For the long cross-harbour hauls they’re quick, cheap and see more of the city than the MTR’s tunnels ever will; in the dense shopping districts at the wrong time of day, they crawl. We did our shopping and found another 680, and another Captain, to carry us back.
How the buses fit with the MTR, trams and ferries: Getting Around Hong Kong