Cross-border buses start trial runs across HKZMB

Cross-border buses operated by Hong Kong companies started trial runs on the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge (HKZMB) on Friday, in preparation for the bridge’s upcoming opening.

The trial runs, jointly arranged by the governments of mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau, were expected to last for three days and aimed at testing the readiness of boundary crossing facilities of the three places, the Hong Kong SAR government’s Transport and Housing Bureau told Xinhua.

Two major cross-boundary coach trade associations in Hong Kong were invited to send buses and members to participate in the trial runs.

Freeman Cheung, secretary of Hong Kong Guangdong Boundary Crossing Bus Association, said his association trialed one bus carrying about 10 passengers on Friday and Saturday respectively as part of the trial runs. “Our bus started at noon from the Hong Kong Boundary Crossing Facilities and ran all the way to Zhuhai in about 40 minutes,” he said, adding that “the journey was smooth.”

Alan Chan, secretary of another trade association who participated in the trial runs as a passenger, said the clearance procedures at all three boundary crossing facilities went well and smoothly.

“The boundary crossing facilities of Zhuhai and Macau, in particular, are operated in a collaborative way, which helps remarkably shorten the time needed for the clearance procedures,” he said.

The HKZMB, situated at the waters of the Pearl River Estuary, is a mega-size sea crossing linking Hong Kong, Zhuhai and Macau. The 55 kilometer bridge is the longest bridge-and-tunnel sea crossing in the world.

The bridge is meant to meet the demands of passenger and freight land transport from Hong Kong, mainland China and Macau, and establish a new land transport link between the east and west banks of the Pearl River.  MDT/Xinhua