Taking the Minibus
In Hong Kong, a minibus has 16 or 19 seats only, and standing is not allowed on a minibus. Therefore, we need to make sure that there is a seat available for us before paying the fare. If we are not sure, we can ask the minibus driver.
If we are taking the minibus with our companions but there are not enough seats for all of us, we can let the next passenger get on first.
When we need to get off a minibus, we need to shout to let the driver know where we want to get off at. People use different ways to indicate the location. For example, they may shout a street name, a building name, a landmark or a thing on the street (e.g., traffic light, post box, fire hydrant). If it is our first time taking the route and are not sure how to shout, we can observe when and what other passengers will shout so that we will know next time.
We can also ask the driver to remind us to get off.
When the minibus arrives at the location, the driver will remind us to get off.
Sometimes, the driver will ask if passengers need to get off at a specific location. If no one responds, they will skip the location. They may sometimes change the route and won’t pass through that location. Therefore, if we want to get off at that location, we need to shout yes immediately.
- 有冇落 jau5 mou5 lok6 is the question form of the expression 有落 jau5 lok6 (‘to have get off’).
When we get off, we can thank the driver.