# Citybus route 12A

Citybus route 12A is a bus route on Hong Kong Island. Operated by Citybus, it is a loop route originating from Admiralty (Tamar Street), passing through Cotton Tree Drive, MacDonnell Road, Kennedy Road and Central before returning to Admiralty. The route was first operated by China Motor Bus from its introduction in 1961 until it was suspended in 1987. It was then reintroduced in 1991, when the government put the route up for tender which was won by Citybus, becoming its first franchised bus route.

## History
### First introduction and suspension

Route 12A was first introduced by China Motor Bus (CMB) on 16 December 1961, running as a full-day loop service between United Pier in Central and MacDonnell Road. The terminus at United Pier was shifted to a new large bus interchange nearby in 1972. In 1982, the service level was reduced, with the route only running on weekdays and the weekend service replaced by public light bus services.
The Central terminus was shifted twice in the 1980s, first on 1 February 1985 to Edinburgh Place, and then on 3 March 1986 to Central (Exchange Square) Bus Terminus. However, due to declining ridership as a result of mismanagement by CMB, the route stopped operating on 26 August 1987.

### Second introduction and Citybus takeover

After CMB stopped operating the route, residents along MacDonnell Road could only commute using public light buses, which were often unable to cope with the demand. At the same time, Citybus began interested in operating routes 12A and 17 (Central to So Kon Po via MacDonnell Road, also suspended by CMB since 1985), and in September 1989 expressed its interest in reintroducing route 12A to the Central and Western District Council. With the agreement of the council, Citybus formally submitted its application to operate the route to the government.
On 30 November 1989, due to a breakdown of negotiations over pensions between the labour union and the management of CMB, bus drivers with CMB went on strike, resulting in chaos for commuters on Hong Kong Island. The Southern District was one of the worst-hit areas, with no CMB buses running during the morning rush hour. On that day, Citybus provided a temporary non-franchised bus service in Ap Lei Chau, where public light buses were not allowed to enter, significantly increasing its reputation among residents in the area.
The next year, the government continued to process the application for the resumption of the route, and invited CMB to provide advice. They ultimately decided to put the new route up for tender to determine the operator of the route, thereby introducing competition within bus operators on Hong Kong Island. Despite the opposition of CMB and Kowloon Motor Bus (KMB) (the other franchised bus operator in Hong Kong at the time), the tender was called on 19 April 1991. Bidders included Citybus and several other non-franchised bus operators. CMB did not put forward a bid as they saw the route as unprofitable, while KMB briefly considered a bid but ultimately did not submit one. Citybus was ultimately announced as the winner of the tender.
The route restarted operations on 11 September 1991, reusing the route number 12A from the CMB era and running as a loop service from Hong Kong–Macau Ferry Terminal to MacDonnell Road via Admiralty. It became Citybus' first franchised bus route, breaking the monopoly CMB had on franchised bus services on Hong Kong Island and making Citybus the fourth franchised bus operator in Hong Kong (after KMB, CMB and New Lantao Bus). On the first day, nine double decker buses were used on the route.
On 15 February 1993, the starting point of route 12A was moved to Connaught Road Central. Fare discounts were simultaneously introduced for non-peak hours. It was moved again to its present terminus at Admiralty (Tamar Street) on 30 June 1994, with the return journey via Queen's Road, Pedder Street and Chater Road. In 1997, the route was rerouted to serve Garden Road cable car stop, with the fare discount scheme discontinued simultaneously. The rerouting was reversed in 2000, with a new special route 12S introduced between Garden Road and Admiralty replacing the deleted sector; route 12S would ultimately be withdrawn on 3 May 2004 due to "route restructuring".
From 1 June 2016 onwards, Citybus implemented a next bus arrival time inquiry system on eight bus routes, including route 12A. On 17 July 2017, an express variant of the route was introduced, running on weekday mornings and skipping Central on the return journey from MacDonnell Road to Admiralty.

## Fleet

When route 12A was operated by CMB, the fleet consisted mainly of non-air conditioned double decker Guy Arab V buses.
Following its reintroduction by Citybus, brand new air conditioned Leyland Olympian double deckers were used on the route. This was followed by Volvo B6LE and Dennis Dart single deckers. In 1998, the route started using MAN NL262s, which had a higher capacity than the previous fleet. In 2015, newer Youngman JNP6105GR and JNP6120GR buses were introduced to replace the previous ageing fleet.
In September 2024, Citybus announced it was seeking approval from the relevant authorities for the reintroduction of double deckers on route 12A.
* When Citybus reintroduced route 12A, Leyland Olympian double decker buses were used.
* The MAN NL262, which had a higher capacity than other single deck buses, was introduced on route 12A in 1998.

## Ridership

According to a Wah Kiu Yat Po report on 23 October 1991, within the first month of route 12A's Citybus operations, the average daily ridership is 1,700, with ridership "steadily rising since mid-September".
The Transport Department (TD) observed the ridership of route 12A at MacDonnell Road on 6 June 2013 during morning peak hours, and found that the average number of passengers on each bus between 08:30 and 09:30 was 25, with 35% occupancy. In a similar survey on 1 June 2022, the average occupancy is at 54%. TD found that while some passengers were unable to get on the bus due to it being full, most were able to board the second bus seven minutes later.
Route 12A serves the MacDonnell Road and Kennedy Road school districts, and is one of the only two bus routes serving housing estates along MacDonnell Road (the other being Hong Kong Island public light bus route 1A). Some commuters have thus criticised that the route is unable to cope with the demand, particularly during school reporting and dismissal hours, and pointed out that route 12A can sometimes have a frequency of over 30 minutes during non-peak hours.