Cross-border traffic records slight increase

Cross-border vehicular traffic rose by 2.3 percent to 4,927,368 trips in 2018, while those passing through the Checkpoint of Cotai (30 percent of total traffic) recorded an increase of 16.5 percent. In contrast, those going through the checkpoint of Border Gate (68.2 percent) saw a decrease of 3.6 percent.

Transport statistics released yesterday by the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicate that vehicular trips passing through the checkpoint of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge totaled 23,574.

Last year, commercial flights increased by 13.1 percent year-on- year to 62,048 trips. Flights to and from mainland China and Thailand showed 20.9 percent and 20.8 percent growth respectively, whereas flights to and from South Korea and Vietnam fell by 15.5 percent and 8.8 percent respectively.

In the fourth quarter, helicopter flights between Macau and mainland China, and Macau and Hong Kong dropped by 5.3 percent year-on-year to 3,640 trips. Yet helicopter flights in 2018 rose by 2.7 percent to 13,089 trips.

Last year, ferry trips between Macau and mainland China, and Macau and Hong Kong totaled 131,740, down by 5.1 percent year-on-year. Those to and from Hong Kong (111,186) dropped by 1.9 percent.

At the end of December 2018, the total number of licensed motor vehicles edged down by 0.6 percent year-
on-year to 240,145, of which light motorcycles (26,256) decreased by 10.5 percent, whereas light automobiles (108,442) and heavy motorcycles (97,822) inched up by 0.8 percent and 0.9 percent respectively.

The new registration of motor vehicles in the fourth quarter of 2018 declined by 27.2 percent year-on-year to 3,622. New registrations in 2018 dropped by 13.7 percent to 14,509, with heavy motorcycles (7,374) falling by 25.4 percent.

A total of 3,467 traffic accidents were recorded in the fourth quarter of 2018, down by 4.5 percent year-on-
year, and the number of victims was 1,165.

In 2018, the number of traffic accidents dropped by 6.5 percent year- on-year to 13,764, resulting in 4,390 casualties, with 10 fatalities.