Gov’t approves up to 6 pct increase on ferry fares

The Marine and Water Bureau (DSAMA) has announced that it has approved requests from two local ferry service providers to increase their ferry fares. However, these increases are somewhat lower than the rate the companies proposed.
A press release from the Bureau suggests that the government will allow the ferry service providers to increase the current MOP5 fares for Macau–Hong Kong economy class journeys by 2.6 to 3.4 percent. The economy class fare of the Hong Kong International Airport–Macau service will also rise between 3.3 and 6 percent, which equals MOP8.
The new fares will come into force on October 8. Macau residents using the Hong Kong/Kowloon–Macau service will still enjoy a MOP15 discount.
TurboJet and Cotai Water Jet asked to increase their fares between 7.5 percent and 8.3 percent in March this year. The operators claimed that the rise was due to the increase in operational costs that are caused by the change in fuel prices, inflation, increases in wage expenses, and the fact that some of the vessels have opted for low sulfur diesel.