Bus route numbering

In the Sunshine Islands, there is a bus route numbering system so people can easily know where different buses will travel to. As the Islands are zoned, this guide can help you determine what route you want to ride or drive.

Keep in mind that some non-franchised services do not follow the numbering conventions.

Inner-Zone routes

Inner zone route numbers are combined by 2 numbers which the first number refers to the zone it serves. The second digit is always random, although some meaning has been added for Zones 4 and 7.

Note: There are no single-digit route numbers (aka 1-9).

Zone 1

• 1x Inner Zone Routes in Zone 1 that does not travel via Dove Island, currently there are no such routes in operation.
• 2x Inner Zone Routes in Zone 1 that travel via Dove Island

Zone 4

• 4x: Inner zone routes in Zone 4
  • 41A via Norton
  • 42 via Inner roads in Central
  • 46 via Eastmallow
  • 47 Connecting multiple islands
  • 49 via North Island Hill

Zone 7

• 7x: Inner zone routes in Zone 7
  • 77 via Alexander
  • 73/673 via YiYan
  • 75 via Rainbow, East Door
  • 76 via Leafy Bay Estate

Zone 8

• 8x: Routes within Zone 8 - all routes to Zone 8 are currently signed as Zone 7 routes as they do not terminate within Zone 8 despite being inter-zone routes

Examples

• 42 is a inner zone route in zone 4
• 76 is a inner zone route in zone 7
• 25 is a inner zone route in zone 1 that runs via Dove Island
• 16 is a nonexistent inner zone route in zone 1 that does not travel via Dove Island

Currently there are no inner zone routes for Zone 6 (6x) and Zone 8 (8x) as they are undergoing development. There are also no routes in Zones 3 and 5 as those areas are entirely made of water.

Inter-Zone routes

All inter-zone routes have three numbers.

All zones, except routes going to Zone 1

ABx - A refers to the zone it departs from (smaller number), B refers to the other zone it terminates at (Bigger number). Routes use the same number when travelling in the reverse direction.

Routes that go to Zone 1

B refers to the other zone it terminates at.

• 1Bx - Going to Zone 1 using Western Harbour Tunnel
• 2Bx - Using Western Harbour Tunnel for one direction and Central - Western Bridge for the other direction.
• 3Bx - Going to Zone 1 via Central - Western Bridge

All routes use the same number in the reverse direction.

Example

• 4 6 2 is a route from zone 4 to zone 6
• 4 7 5 is a route from zone 4 to zone 7
• 6 7 0 is a route from zone 6 to zone 7
• 1 4 0 is a route from zone 1 to zone 4 using Western Harbour Tunnel
• 3 7 0 is a route from zone 1 to zone 7 using Central - Western Bridge
• 2 4 6 X is a route from Zone 1 to zone 4 using the Western Harbour Tunnel when going to zone 1 and the Central - Western bridge when going to zone 4.

Alphabet prefix

• Prefix A: Airport route. E.g.: A41 is a nonexistent airport route. Currently there are no route numbers starting with this prefix, as there is no airport in the Islands.
• Prefix B: Border port route. E.g.: B21 is a nonexistent border port route. Currently there are no route numbers starting with this prefix, as Sunshine Islands does not have any known road connections to other maps.
• Prefix C: Employee shuttle routes for CSB - only available to employees of bus companies travelling to/from work during overnight hours (also known as crew or staff buses). For example, C01 is a CSB staff service.
• Prefix E: Route serving an expo centre (or can also be listed as express). E.g.: E73 is a nonexistent expo centre service route. Currently there are no route numbers starting with this prefix, as there is no major expo facility in the Islands.
• Prefix F: Employee shuttle routes for Forever Transit - only available to employees of bus companies travelling to/from work during overnight hours (also known as crew or staff buses). For example, F701 is an Forever Transit staff service. However, route F469 is a public service that only operates during the annual Shallow Valley Depot open week.
• Prefix K/M: Feeder bus service for a passenger railway line. Currently, there are no routes starting with this prefix, since regular routes already act as such feeder services. The M prefix can also be for driver training purposes, as setting the route code to "M2" will set the destination display to Training on select buses.
• Prefix N: Overnight bus routes (except 24-hour routes). E.g.: Route N171 is an overnight bus route.
• Prefix R: Special bus routes, e.g. routes operated for large scale activities such as a concert or marathon (but except special routes during typhoons or strong winds), holiday routes or festival routes. E.g: R370 is a special bus route.
• Prefix S (Before June 1, 2024): Special services of a normal route that operate along with the normal route when there is a strong wind and buses are not allowed to use Desire Bridge. E.g.: Route S25R is the special service of Route 25R when buses are not allowed on Desire Bridge under strong wind. For the details of these special services, refer to Special traffic arrangements at strong wind. (This prefix with this meaning is no longer in use as Route 25R is already cancelled and special route for bad weather has changed to prefix/suffix Y already.)
• Prefix S (After December 31, 2024): Sightseeing routes. E.g.: S1 is a sightseeing route.
• Prefix U: University services route. E.g. U47 is a university service route for Sunshine University.
• Prefix X: Express services. E.g.: X171 is a nonexistent express route. Currently there are no route numbers starting with this prefix.
• Prefix Y(Desired Plan Y):Modified services of a normal route that operate when typhoon signal no.8 or above is hoisted. E.g.: Route Y370 is the special service of Route 370 during typhoon. For the details of these special services, refer to Special traffic arrangements at typhoon.

Alphabet suffix

• Suffix A, B, C, D, E, F, G: No special meaning, only implying branches of a route series or being a conventional route. E.g: 49A is a branch of 49 series. Currently only suffix A and B are used. (Note: E may also stand for an express branch)
• Suffix AF: April Fools Route. E.g. 41AF was specifically designated for the jet bus service that launched with the April Fools Update in 2022, however it was playable until May 31, 2024. (This suffix is no longer in use)
• Suffix H: Hospital Routes. E.g. 75H is a nonexistent route that serves a hospital. Currently there are no route numbers that have this suffix, as some route such as 74A already connecting Leafy Hospital .
• Suffix K/M: Routes that connect to railway stations. E.g. 43M is a nonexistent route. Currently there are no route numbers that have this suffix, as some route such as 21 and 74A already connect to/from railway stations.
• Suffix P: Routes that mainly serve during rush hours. E.g. 141P only serves at peak hours.
• Suffix R: Special bus routes, e.g. routes operated for large scale activities (but except special routes during typhoons or strong winds), holiday routes or festival routes. E.g: 171R only serves after events at Sunshine Stadium.
• Suffix S: Different meanings, including rush hour routes, late night bus routes or special bus routes, depending on situation. For example, route 76S is a special express route serving Ambling Peak during major events, such as Tomb Sweeping Day.
• Suffix T: Temporary bus routes. E.g. 140T is a nonexistent temporary route. Currently there are no route numbers starting with this suffix.
• Suffix X: Express services. E.g.: 246X is an express route.
• Suffix Y: Modified services of a normal route that operate when typhoon signal no.8 or above is hoisted. E.g.: Route 25Y is the special service of Route 25 during typhoon. For the details of these special services, refer to Special traffic arrangements at typhoon.

Other things to note

Sunshine Express' buses used coloured boxes on their LCD displays in addition to route numbers to help determine the type of service:

• Yellow: Local Zone 4 route
• Green: Inter zone
• Brown: Special (e.g. U47) in Sunshine Islands, formerly used for Express in City of George.

Occasionally, you might get a message in the inbox feature within the stop reporter tablet about route codes. Some of these work, like M2 for Training, but others don't. For example, code PH1 will work (and set your GPS/automatic announcements for the appropriate routing) when a scheduled Private Hire is running as a Daily Challenge, otherwise, it will result in a null code (bringing up the Not In Service or company logo exposure). To bring up the Private Hire sign for any unscheduled service, you will need to enter PH.

CSB's only Dennis Dart has a rollsign exposure for route 3B to Leafy Bay, while the LED displays on SIB, FT, FTCC and REBC buses can be signed for any route within the Islands if the route code is entered in the tablet, since routes from other companies don't display in the route list. However, if a code for a route outside of CSB or Horizon Group's franchises is entered into the tablet on vehicles owned by the respective companies, it will result in the company's logo being shown instead as the displays for these buses do not have exposures for such routes (e.g. operating route 140 with a Horizon Group bus). To display the route number in this case, you would need to set up the window card with a user-generated decal.

See Also...

• Bus routes in Sunshine Islands