MAN 24.310 - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

MAN 24.310 is a low-floor

Low-floor bus

A low-floor bus is a bus that has no steps between one or more entrances and part or all of the passenger cabin. Being low floor improves the accessibility of the bus for the public, particularly the elderly or infirm, or those with push chairs, and increasingly, those in wheelchairs.In the modern...

double-decker bus

Double-decker bus

A double-decker bus is a bus that has two storeys or 'decks'. Global usage of this type of bus is more common in outer touring than in its intra-urban transportion role. Double-decker buses are also commonly found in certain parts of Europe, Asia, and former British colonies and protectorates...

model built for the Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

market. Unlike other low-floor double-decker buses in Hong Kong, there are steps in the lower deck aisle after the rear exit.

For the type code 24.310, 24 means that the bus has the maximum gross weight of 24 tonnes, whilst 310 means that the maximum power of the engine is 310 hp.

History before introduction

In 1998, Citybus

Citybus (Hong Kong)

Citybus Limited is one of the three major bus operators in Hong Kong. It provides both franchised and non-franchised bus service. The franchised route network serves mainly Hong Kong Island, cross-harbour routes , Ocean Park, North Lantau and Hong Kong International Airport...

ordered a number of MAN 24.310 buses with Berkhof/Volgren

Volgren

Volgren is an Australian bodywork company previously owned by Volvo and the Grenda Corporation but is now entirely owned by the latter. It was established in 1977, initially supplying bodywork for Volvo buses sold in Australia, and later supplying bus bodywork on all types of chassis for both local...

bodywork after the trial of an Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

n-built MAN 24.350. However in early 1999, Transport Department of Hong Kong

Transport Department (Hong Kong)

Transport Department is responsible for transportation related policy in Hong Kong. The department reports to the Transport and Housing Bureau.The current Commissioner for Transport is Joseph Lai.-See also:* Transport in Hong Kong...

set quota on the number of buses owned by Citybus, and therefore the order was cancelled involuntarily.

At that time, construction of 32 Berkhof-bodied buses and 2 Volgren-bodied buses had been completed, so MAN had to find buyers for these buses. Finally, one Berkhof-bodied bus was retained by MAN for testing, and the others were sold for operations in Hong Kong.

Kwoon Chung Motors

In 1999, Kwoon Chung Motors, a coach and rental bus operator in Hong Kong, took over one of the Berkhof-bodied MAN 24.310 abandoned by Citybus and put the bus into service in 2000.

The bus was primarily used as a staff bus (for Hong Kong International Airport

Hong Kong International Airport

Hong Kong International Airport is the main airport in Hong Kong. It is colloquially known as Chek Lap Kok Airport , being built on the island of Chek Lap Kok by land reclamation, and also to distinguish it from its predecessor, the closed Kai Tak Airport.The airport opened for commercial...

). But during rush hours, it could be seen allocated to New Lantao Bus

New Lantao Bus

The New Lantao Bus Company Limited – known as New Lantao Bus, or NLB – is a franchised bus company operating in Hong Kong.-History:...

(subsidiary of Kwoon Chung) routes in Tung Chung

Tung Chung

Tung Chung, meaning 'eastern stream', is an area situated on the north-western coast of Lantau Island in Hong Kong. Tung Chung, currently one of the latest generation of new towns, was formerly a rural village around Tung Chung Wan, and along the delta and lower courses of Tung Chung River and Ma...

Kowloon Motor Bus

The Kowloon Motor Bus Company Limited , a company of the Transport International Holdings Limited, is the largest franchised bus operators in Hong Kong, and one of the largest privately owned public bus operators in the world...

took over the other 32 MAN 24.310 buses abandoned by Citybus. 30 buses with Berkhof bodywork entered service in 2000. The 2 buses with Volgren bodywork, which were once stored in Volgren's facility at Perth, Australia

Australia

, entered service in 2002.

Later, KMB ordered 15 MAN 24.310 buses with Volgren bodywork. They had the staircase moved forward, had yellow instead of red handrails and no seats were fitted above the front wheels. They entered service in 2002.

All of these 47 buses are allocated to Tuen Mun

Tuen Mun

Tuen Mun is a town near the mouth of Tuen Mun River and Castle Peak Bay in the New Territories, Hong Kong. It was one of the earliest settlements in Hong Kong which can be dated back to the Neolithic period. In the more recent past, it was home to many Tanka fishermen who gathered at the Castle...

Depot and mainly run on express routes serving Tuen Mun

Tuen Mun

, Tsuen Wan

Tsuen Wan

Tsuen Wan is a bay in the Kowloon area of Hong Kong, opposite to Tsing Yi Island across Rambler Channel. The market town of Tsuen Wan emerged for the surrounding villages and fleets of fishing boats in the area. The town is around the present-day Tsuen Wan Station of the MTR...

, Kwai Tsing Districts and Kowloon

Kowloon

Kowloon is an urban area in Hong Kong comprising the Kowloon Peninsula and New Kowloon. It is bordered by the Lei Yue Mun strait in the east, Mei Foo Sun Chuen and Stonecutter's Island in the west, Tate's Cairn and Lion Rock in the north, and Victoria Harbour in the south. It had a population of...