Good timing with this thread moondog!

I will arriving at SZX on Monday around 17:00 and plan to stay at a hotel in Shekou. Depending on how meetings go Tuesday morning I might scoot across to see a friend in Hong Kong on Tuesday (Kowloon side, so if I do this I plan to take the B2P bus to the MTR). I can't quite figure out though from searching here and elsewhere exactly how the Shenzhen Bay crossing works. Assuming I am staying in Shekou I *think* the process should be

- walk to the border crossing (or this not possible/practical?)
- exit China/enter Hong Kong (still on the "Shenzhen" side of the bridge)
- hop on a bus/minibus (or take a Hong Kong taxi)

Is that correct? Or do I need to take a Chinese bus across the bridge, and then on the Hong Kong side go through the borders and change to another bus? How does the "waiting in the minivan" work? That to me suggests the latter (border crossings are far apart), but I have also read some places that the Exit/Entry borders are both on the Shenzhen side of the bridge. I guess I must be missing something...

A related question (though perhaps better in the China forum ...). What is the traffic like 5-6pm on a weekday going from SZX to Shekou? No luggage, so I could use the Shenzhen Metro (listed as 52 minutes) quite easily, but unless the roads are going to be really bad I guess it will faster to take a taxi. I haven't been to this area for about 9 years I think so have no idea how much it has "developed".