Following is a question by the Hon Lothair Lam and a written reply by the Secretary for Transport and Logistics, Ms Mable Chan, in the Legislative Council today (June 24):

Question:

     Regarding the sustainable development of the public light bus (PLB) trade, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) given that, according to the information of the Government, the current annual Fee of Vehicle Licence (licence fee) for PLBs is $8,429, which is much higher than the licence fees for other modes of public transport, of the criteria adopted by the authorities in determining the licence fees for various types of vehicles; whether it will consider reducing the licence fee for PLBs to alleviate the operating burden on the PLB trade;

(2) whether the authorities have compiled statistics on the respective numbers of idle green minibuses (GMBs) and red minibuses (RMBs) across the territory at present, as well as their respective percentages in the total numbers of GMBs and RMBs;

(3) as some members of the trade have indicated that there is still a shortage of drivers, and that quite a number of local drivers are retiring, whether the Government will explore increasing the quota under the Labour Importation Scheme for the Transport Sector - Public Light Bus/Coach Trade and launch a new round of applications, so as to ease manpower pressure and enhance service levels;

(4) of the number of new GMB routes launched by the authorities through the GMB Operator Selection exercise for interested parties to apply for operation in each of the past 10 years and this year to date, as well as the number of additional GMBs involved;

(5) as some PLB operators have pointed out that the operating environment of PLBs has been further affected following the expansion of the railway network, what measures the authorities have put in place to support the trade, including whether it will strengthen assistance to affected operators in rationalizing PLB routes, and award additional points to affected applicant operators in more tenders for new GMB routes to increase their chances of securing the routes;

(6) given that the authorities launched the RMB to GMB conversion scheme in August 2024, under which operators of 11 selected RMB routes meeting specific conditions were invited to apply for conversion to GMB route operations, whether the authorities have reviewed the effectiveness of the scheme, and of any new measures to facilitate the operation of RMBs and attract more RMBs to convert to GMBs; and

(7) whether the authorities will, by making reference to the practices of subsidising the procurement of electric franchised buses and electric taxis, or the Dedicated 100% Loan Guarantee Scheme for Battery Electric Taxis, launch similar schemes for the PLB trade and increase the provision of ancillary charging facilities, so as to assist the trade in switching to electric vehicles and thereby better promote the low-carbon transformation of the PLB trade?

Reply: 

President, 

     The Government has all along been keeping in view the development of public light bus (PLB) trade and maintaining communication with the PLB trade for optimising the existing monitoring measures with a view to enhancing the quality of PLB services.

     Our reply to the question raised by the Hon Lothair Lam is as follows:

(1) The Transport Department (TD) has been continuously reviewing the operation of Green Minibus (GMB) and approving different service enhancement options, including fare or frequency adjustment, route alternation, route amalgamation, vehicle deployment adjustment, etc, taking into account of passenger needs and operational circumstances, including daily operating costs, the financial position of the operators, service quality and public acceptability, etc. The Government will holistically take into account of the factors such as the transport policy and public finance, etc, in reviewing the level of vehicle licence fee for respective vehicle from time to time.

(2) Currently, the total number of PLBs is capped at 4 350. As at end April 2026, there are around 3 460 registered GMBs (of which around 3 350 are licenced) and around 890 Red Minibuses (RMB) (of which around 700 are licenced). 

(3) The Government has all along been keeping in view the driver shortage problem faced by the PLB/coach trade. To alleviate the problem of labour shortage in the trade, the Government, through the Labour Importation Scheme for Transport Sector – PLB/Coach Trade (the Scheme), approved 900 PLB driver quotas in September 2023 and July 2024 respectively. The imported drivers deployed to the services after passing the driving test and pre-service training course have effectively alleviated the severe manpower shortage problem of the trade as well as helped sustain the stability and quality of PLB services. The Administration will continue to closely monitor and review the operating situation of the Scheme and assess the manpower need of the trade.

     Furthermore, the Government will continue to implement various measures with a view to assisting the trade on local recruitment, including the relaxation of application requirements for driving licence for commercial vehicles, co-ordination of the trade's participation in various employment schemes. At the same time, the TD and the Employees Retraining Board launched in 2024 a placement-tied driving training scheme for the green minibus trade through training organisations to encourage locals to join the trade.

(4) and (5) In the past 10 years (since 2016), the TD has introduced 28 new GMB routes (with 111 additional vehicle) through the Green Minibus Operators Selection Exercise (GMBOSE) (details are set out in the table below). The TD also introduced an extended marking scheme under the GMBOSE so that some GMB operators potentially affected by the new railway development would have a better chance of operating the new GMB route(s).
 

New Green Minibus Routes
Year of Introduction	Number of New Route	Number of Additional Vehicles
2016	3	15
2017	1	3
2018	4	13
2019	2	9
2020	9	38
2021	2	6
2022	1	10
2023	3	10
2024	1	3
2025	2	4
Total	28	111

(6) It has been the Government's policy to encourage the conversion of RMBs to GMB operations, with a view to ensuring their service quality and allowing for more effective service monitoring. The Government invited the operators of 11 selected RMB routes that met specific conditions to apply for conversion to GMB route operations (In-situ Conversion Scheme) in August 2024. The TD received a total of two applications during the application period and the GMB routes concerned have also commenced service in March 2025. After considering views from the trade, the TD agreed in June 2025 to further open up the In-situ Conversion Scheme for all RMB routes participating in the Government Public Transport Fare Concession Scheme for the Elderly and Eligible Persons with Disabilities (the $2 Scheme), with a view to attracting more RMBs to convert into GMBs. It is understood that some RMB operators are reviewing the operation of their routes with a view to participating in the scheme. 

(7) The Government has consistently been promoting the low carbon transformation of the public transport industry. Apart from subsidising two electric PLBs (e-PLBs) by the New Energy Transport Fund since 2023, the Environmental Protection Department has launched two rounds of application under the Pilot Scheme for Electric Public Light Buses (Pilot Scheme) so as to assess the feasibility of the application of e-PLBs and the associated charging arrangements in Hong Kong. The Kwun Tong Yue Man Square and Kowloon Tong (Suffolk Road) Public Transport Interchanges (PTIs) are selected as the trial points for green minibus (GMB) operators operating at the aforementioned two PTIs to apply. The TD has been actively supporting the Pilot Scheme, including providing advice on the site selection for PTIs. The two rounds of operational trial involve six GMB routes operated by five GMB operators, with a total of 15 e-PLBs (including one with low-floor feature).

     The Environment and Ecology Bureau announced the Updated Version of the Hong Kong Roadmap on Popularisation of Electric Vehicles in February this year. One of the key follow-up tasks is to establish a working group in collaboration with relevant stakeholders to assist in introducing more competitively priced electric vehicle models, with PLBs as the initial target. The working group is currently reviewing the technical specifications of e-PLBs provided by the PLB trade and, at an appropriate time, will invite vehicle manufacturers to offer e-PLB models suitable for use in Hong Kong at competitive prices. Relevant bureaux and departments will continue to monitor the market developments and make reference to the working group's findings to consider in a timely manner whether any appropriate supporting measures should be introduced. 

Ends/Wednesday, June 24, 2026
Issued at HKT 11:30

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