Gov’t to introduce 4pct annual cap on vehicle growth

The government is planning to introduce a four-percent annual cap on vehicle growth, the head of Macau’s Transport Bureau (DSAT), Lam Hin San, said yesterday.
DSAT has completed its midterm review of the city’s transport system and the department is aiming to reduce the city’s annual increase in the average number of vehicles from five to four percent, he told reporters on the sidelines of a Transport Advisory Committee meeting held yesterday.
Committee members and government officials discussed the midterm review of Macau’s road and transport policies for the next five years.
The Secretary for Transport and Public Works, Raimundo do Rosário, told lawmakers recently that the territory had recorded a five-percent annual increase in the number of vehicles over the past few years.
Mr Lam said that measures to reduce the number of cars include optimizing Macau’s public transportation system, and introducing stricter car inspection rules.
“This is our goal: to set vehicle increase at a four-percent annual [rate]. We will work toward improving vehicle inspection measures, particularly for aging cars, as we would like to improve air quality (…) We are looking at implementing a set of different measures, including giving priority to public transport,” he said.
According to Mr Lam, the government is yet to reach a decision on whether to increase vehicle tax – another measure in the pipeline aimed at helping to reduce the number of cars in Macau.
“We are still discussing a vehicle tax increase, and we’ll disclose more information in time. There are legal matters involved. I am not able to disclose what the increase would be,” he stated.
Mr Lam added that DSAT is hoping to reach a final decision on a vehicle tax by the year’s end.
Meanwhile, he revealed that negotiations on a new contract with bus operators Transmac and TCM are reaching the final stages. The government is hoping to complete its negotiations with one of the operators within a few weeks, although Mr Lam did not disclose which operator he was referring to.
Asked about what would be hampering negotiations, he hinted that the disagreements and issues raised concern the subsidy provided by the government to bus operators.
“Obviously [the disagreement] is about money. Money is the most difficult part to talk about,” he said. Mr Lam added that their demands are not unreasonable, but the government still needs to take that into account and ensure the allocation of public money is used appropriately.
“We are trying to introduce a new public bus model and we’re demanding operators to improve service quality. It’s a matter of better utilizing public money,” he recalled.
As the government drafts a master plan for the five new reclamation zones under development, concerns about traffic on reclamation Zone A have arisen. A preliminary evaluation of the new reclamation zone blueprint public consultation shows that residents have called on the government to carefully plan Zone A’s transportation and road systems to avoid further traffic pressure.
Mr Lam said yesterday that it is too soon to discuss specific traffic plans for the area, especially while the Land, Public Works and Transport Bureau (DSSOPT) is still working on the blueprint.
He stressed that “it’s difficult to forecast anything at the moment. We will learn from our past experiences in traffic management, and I think we will do a much better job there.”