Photograph courtesy and copyright of
Donald MacRae

Creative Master Northcord have today issued a press release announcing the release of the above model, an 11-metre Olympian in the livery of Stagecoach Bluebird Buses and carrying 'the Buchan link' branding (hkbus2009).

Photograph courtesy and copyright of 
80M Bus Model Shop

The 80M Bus Model Shop website has details of this unpainted Enviro 500 model (39404SD), described as 'Buses in the process of completion', and limited to just 180 pieces. No release date has been announced, but it will retail for HK$298.

I have now seen photographs of this Enviro 500, which confirm that the bus is indeed destined for Australia as a demonstrator. 

**My thanks to Andrew Shirley who has already confirmed the Bridgestone model was issued and has also provided photographs ** 

Work on re-organising the Xtra pages of the site has now been completed, so if you find a problem with any of the links, please  e-mail me.

Photograph courtesy and copyright of the 
Kenneth K T Ma

The second Scania K310UD with Salvador Caetano bodywork entered service on 14th February. ASU2 is registered NE6817. A larger photograph  has been added to the Xtra section of the site.

Photograph courtesy and copyright of the 
Albion Kwok

The first of the New World First Bus Enviro 500s entered service today on route 112 and photographs have now been added to the Xtra section of the site. Pictured above is the second, 5502. Thanks to Albion Kwok, Dennis Law and Alan W.L.Wong for these excellent photographs. 

As a result, I hope to make some changes to the site over the coming months, the first of which are detailed below:-

the removal of the 'Videos' section. Details of newly released DVDs appertaining to oriental buses will continue to be featured in this 'News' page. A link to Independent Transport Videos can be found on the 'Links' page.

the removal of the 'Yahoo group' link in the navigation bar. Again, a link to this group is included in the 'Links' page.

the layout of the 'Xtra' section of the site is currently being changed, and during this time, some pages may well be unavailable.

Photograph courtesy and copyright of the 
Albion Kwok

My thanks to regular contributor Albion Kwok for sending me photographs of the first New World First Bus Enviro 500 which has been allocated fleet number 5501. It is believed that decals, similar to those applied to Citybus Enviro 500 No. 8100, will also be applied to this vehicle. Larger resolution photographs have now been added to the Xtra section of the site. 

Photograph courtesy and copyright of the 80M Bus Model Shop

Due for release in Hong Kong today are the New World First Bus and Citybus 'Year of the Rat' models. The New World First Bus model (20022) features Dennis Dragon DA96 on route no 113 to Choi Hung. The Citybus model (CM066) features Dennis Dragon 830 on route no. 780 to Chai Wan. Both are limited to 1,000 pieces. 

There has been a wide range of views and comments, which will take some time to assess, before deciding upon the various actions.

One such example, and such a simple one, was highlighted by Y.F. Cheung, and this relates to the 'Comments' box included on each of the model pages - 99% of which contain nothing at all! - the decision has already been taken and this box is gradually being removed from each page. The Xtra section of the site has been received well by most, but at the same time, comments on it's layout have not been so favourable! (which I can understand and agree with) - so, if something niggles you, or you have an idea on how to improve any aspect of the site, please tell me (even if you have already completed the survey).