It was the ultimate Hong Kong success story: the sweat-soaked rags of rickshaw boy Ngan Shing-kwan turning to riches with an idea, hard work and the roar of a fleet of diesel engines.
After hauling rich colonials up Kowloon streets for his uncle's rickshaw business in the 1920s, Mr Ngan founded CMB 65 years ago and is now its chairman and managing director.
He won the franchise to run buses around Hong Kong Island in 1933 and built an empire from his tiny fleet, winning the respect of the people and the colonial government and earning seats in the legislative and executive councils.
Mr Ngan is now well into his 90s and mostly bed-ridden. His children run the operation, with a small fleet of Daimlers and Jaguars whisking them between their Admiralty offices, North Point developments and the battered and neglected Chai Wan depot.
Under their control, CMB has been in rapid decline over the past decade, with outdated services being outdone by new operators and a worsening relationship with staff and transport authorities.
The family owns just under half of CMB, worth about $1.5 billion.
Mr Ngan owns 7.71 per cent of shares while his daughter, managing director Irene Ngan Kit-ling, 63, owns 7.17 per cent.