Commuting by bus or LRT: Pros and cons

With the recent launch of the Light Rapid Transit (LRT) Barra Station earlier this month, commuters between the Peninsula and the Islands have gained another travel option.

However, the question remains: Is the LRT faster or more convenient compared to traditional bus rides?

The Times embarked on an exercise to test a potential route. However, it is important to note that commuters have varying needs and preferences and must determine their commuting options according to such needs.

The idea was to test the connection between the Central district (specifically, Rua do Campo’s Public Administration Building) and a residential and commercial area in Taipa (the Jockey Club area).

To ensure a fair comparison of the systems without the influence of traffic or other time-sensitive aspects, we opted for off-peak times and a random weekday for both trips.

Trip A (Macau – Taipa)

The journey started as soon as we arrived at the Rua do Campo, Public Administration Building bus stop and ended as soon as we exited the bus on the opposite side on the return.

On the way to Taipa, we took the bus Route 25B. For the return journey, we took the LRT from Jockey Club to Barra Station and transferred to bus Route 5 to Rua do Campo.

According to the Transport Bureau (DSAT) travel planner mobile application, both trips should have been completed in approximately the same amount of time.

The total Trip A (Macau – Taipa) took us 32 minutes, including 6 minutes of waiting at the bus stop and another 6 minutes walking between the last bus stop and the designated location.

Using the MPay electronic payment method, the trip cost 3 patacas.

Trip B (Taipa – Macau)

Starting the return trip at the same point where Trip A had finished, Trip B was revealed to be both more costly (6 patacas in total using the Macau Pass) and significantly more time-consuming, taking 46 minutes in total.

Two aspects were particularly crucial to the total trip duration. The first is related to the walking time, as even if the first walking stint (to reach the LRT platform) was shorter, there was significant walking time upon arrival at Barra Station to the bus stop at the Barra Transport Hub. This was also because the signage was somewhat unclear and unintuitive, forcing commuters to walk several stops to confirm that they were on the right path.

In total, the walking and transfer time took some 10 minutes. But, more importantly, the reason underpinning the extended time for the return trip was due to the bus trip.

According to the DSAT travel planner app, this should have taken 10 minutes between the Barra Transport Hub to Rua do Campo/Travessa dos Anjos bus stop, but in reality took some 23 minutes due to slow progress in the Inner Harbour area and normal traffic at the Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro.

The separate charging systems for the two systems (LRT vs buses) also increased the total cost as it failed to account for the fact that users were transferring from one system to another to complete a single journey.

Verdict

While the Barra Station offers some advantages and can provide an expedited way to travel to and from Taipa, particularly in times of heavy road traffic, there are still major flaws in the LTR system.

More specifically, these issues reside in the dependence on the link to the public bus system that does not always work as expected and is very vulnerable to road traffic conditions.

On the other hand, commutes on the LRT are more comfortable than buses, providing more space to users (at least for now).

If your destination and your wallet allow you to reach the Barra Transport Hub without using the bus routes that operate through the Inner Harbour area, this trip could potentially be completed in the same time or less than using the LRT.