KMB, a franchised bus company, has introduced Hong Kong’s inaugural route exclusively operated by female drivers. Additionally, the company has established dedicated rest facilities for female workers at terminuses, aiming to challenge gender stereotypes.
The largest bus company in the city inaugurated a women-prioritized rest facility at the Tin Shui Wai town center bus terminus. Simultaneously, female drivers began operating Route 69 in the New Territories, connecting the district with Yuen Long. The company is also actively exploring additional routes suitable for exclusive operation by women drivers.
In addition to the basic amenities, the new lounge features a changing area and a full-length mirror to accommodate the needs of female drivers.
Head of the firm’s corporate communications and public affairs department, Kenny Kan Hok-hei, said, “When searching for jobs, most women think that to be a bus driver at KMB, you have to be male, or that we’re mostly looking for male employees. Through these new facilities that prioritise women, we can further encourage them to consider bus driving as a favourable job opportunity for them and change the impression that bus driving is a male-dominated role.”
Douglas Mak Shing-pong, the head of operations at the company, mentioned that currently, only 8 percent of KMB’s bus drivers are women. He expressed the company’s aspiration to increase this percentage to 10 percent “in the future.”
The facility situated at the entrance of the Tin Shui Wai terminus is designated as a rest area and changing room specifically for women. This marks a notable improvement from a time when such amenities were scarce.
According to Yeung Yiu-wai, head of KMB’s human resources department, the new facility features a changing room equipped with a full-length mirror, an armchair, and a microwave oven.
Carmen Ng Ka-man, head of the customer experience department, announced that KMB intends to launch a similar facility at Tai Po central bus terminus within “three to four months.”
Presently, only 8 percent of KMB’s 10,000 bus drivers are women. The company aims to increase this to 10 percent by recruiting around 200 more female bus drivers.