The new section of Hong Kong's Central Kowloon Bypass was inaugurated on Sunday morning and is expected to cut travel time and alleviate traffic congestion in Kowloon during peak hours.

The CKB (Yau Ma Tei Section), which connects Yau Ma Tei Interchange in West Kowloon and the Kai Tak Interchange in East Kowloon, was opened during a ceremony officiated by Secretary for Transport and Logistics Mable Chan.

“The journey from Yau Ma Tei to Kai Tak will be reduced from 30 minutes to just 5 minutes, as there are no traffic lights in between and the route operates at high speed,” Chan said during her speech at the ceremony.

While the travel time  between East and West Kowloon will be significantly shortened, journey times of long-haul bus routes operating between East Kowloon and New Territories West (including Tuen Mun, Yuen Long and Tsuen Wan) will also be substantially reduced.

Eight franchised bus routes, including three new ones, will provide services via the CKB during peak hours starting Monday.

The three new routes include KMB routes No. 33X (Tsuen Wan West Station - Yau Tong) and No. 252S (Handsome Court - Kwun Tong Ferry), and Citybus route No. A28X (Tseung Kwan O Station to Airport-Ground Transportation Centre).

The five existing bus routes that will use the bypass include KMB routes 258X (Po Tin - Kwun Tong Ferry), 259S (Lung Mun Oasis - Kwun Tong Ferry), 259X (Lung Mun Oasis - Kwun Tong Ferry), 268P (Ma Wang Road - Kwun Tong Ferry), and 269S (Tin Shui Wai Town Centre - Kwun Tong Ferry).

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“Some passengers may need to get on and off at Prince Edward Road and Argyle Street along the route, while others may need a direct route from Kai Tak to Yau Ma Tei, enjoying the significant reduction in travel time,” Chan said.

She said the transport officials will continue to review the needs of commuters and urged Legislative Council members to provide feedback from their constituents.

“We hope that the completion of this transport infrastructure will be an opportunity to better optimize public transport arrangements in Kai Tak, Jordan, and Yau Ma Tei,” Chan said.