In 2020, a survey conducted by the Chinese University of Hong Kong’s Center for Communication and Public Opinion demonstrated unequivocally that stress-induced sleep deprivation was a widespread issue.
Apart from daily stresses, the constant bustle of city life doesn’t help people get a good night’s sleep either. This explains why it’s not uncommon for exhausted employees to bring eye masks and neck pillows to work to catch a few winks during their lunch breaks, and why Instagram accounts like “mtrsleepers”, which features photos of residents of Hong Kong napping creatively on the subway, have an endless supply of content.
Frankie Chow, the proprietor of Ulu Travel Agency, has devised a solution for the harried and sleep-deprived: a five-hour bus route dedicated to sleeping customers.
“Buses’ motion mimics that of a mother swinging a newborn in her arms. It is quite comfy,” he explains. The bus takes passengers on a picturesque 47-mile ride, the city’s longest public bus route. Passengers are seated luxuriously on fake leather chairs with headrests and are provided with eye masks and earplugs to aid in their slumber.
The excursion includes pauses at scenic viewpoints and restroom breaks. One of the passengers on the buses’ first journey to nowhere, 44-year-old Ally Yeung, claimed that she used to like sleeping on her commute to and from work but hasn’t had the opportunity to do so since transferring to a position closer to her home. “It doesn’t have to be like nighttime when you have to fight yourself to sleep because you’re meant to,” she explains, “but you’ll simply fall asleep on the bus since it’s moving.”