![[China Motor Bus Company flag]](../images/h/hk$cmb.gif)
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Last modified: 2004-11-13 by phil nelson
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The China Motor Bus Co. Ltd.. was the first bus company in
Hong Kong, and was granted franchise (read: monopoly) on Hong
Kong Island in 1933. The company flag was similar to today's
maritime signal flag 'F' (white with a red lozenge overall),
with a highly stylized cipher of the company in white at the
centre. The flag appeared on the company logo which at one
stage was printed onto tickets. Later (in the 1970s?) the
flag was changed into white with red rectangle (half the
length and half the width of the flag) at the centre, again
with the cipher in white. I have never seen the flag being
flown, but it appeared on the company logo, which was painted
onto the body of every CMB bus. (Hardly
anyone noticed there was a flag inside the logo!) The
CMB was
well-known for its outdated ethos and poor services. (For
example, what's the difference between one bus every 15
minutes and two buses every 30 minutes? Answer: the two buses
arrived at the same time after waiting for 30 minutes.) In
1998, the Hong Kong SAR Government finally took its faith in
capitalist competition seriously, and revoked the CMB's franchise,
a move few Hong Kongers would be mourning for.
Miles Li, 31 December 2002