Macau ferry services cut Hong Kong routes amid bridge competition

Ferry service provider Cotai Water Jet has decided to cut a total of six daily sailings between Macau and Hong Kong, effective from October 1, the operator announced on Friday. The adjustment concerns both city and airport routes and is believed connected to the growing number of travelers using the Hong Kong- Zhuhai-Macau Bridge.

From October 1, the ferry operator will cancel its 7 a.m. sailing from the Taipa Ferry Terminal to the Hong Kong Macau Ferry Terminal at Sheung Wan. Its 9:30 p.m. sailing from Sheung Wan, Hong Kong, to Taipa will also be canceled starting from the same date.

Starting from October 2, the operator’s 8:15 a.m. sailing from China Ferry Terminal located at Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong, to Taipa will no longer run. An afternoon sailing, at 4:30 p.m. from Taipa to Sheung Wan, will be canceled from the same day.

As for the Hong Kong International Airport route, the company is cutting the 2:15 p.m. sailing to Taipa and the 10:55 a.m. Taipa to HKIA sailing.

The operator did not explain the reason behind the cancelled sailings in its announcement.

Meanwhile, its competitor, TurboJET, is operating only two sailings from the Hong Kong airport to Macau Outer Harbor Ferry Terminal, and three in the opposite direction.

Sailings between Sheung Wan and the Outer Harbor have also been cut. Before the start of this month, sailings on this route set off every 15 minutes normally. Currently, the interval between each sailing ranges from between 20 to 30 minutes.

TurboJET’s parent company, Shun Tak Holdings, pointed out in its interim report that the ferry operator had lost HKD70 million in the first half of this year, compared with a profit of HKD186 million in same period last year. Some 4.6 million passengers were transferred in the first half of 2019, equating to a drastic 32% decline.

The Hong Kong Stock Exchange-listed corporation attributed the falls to “changing travel patterns resulting from the opening of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge (HKZMB) in 2018.” The bridge opened in October last year.

In order to combat the situation, the company pointed out its diversification of travel routes, such as launching the Taipa-Kowloon route in March this year. It expects the opening of the Light Rail Transit will attract more travelers to opt for arriving at Macau via the Taipa Ferry Terminal, which is adjacent to a station on the train network.

The company is part of a consortium running shuttle services over the HKZMB. In the first half of this year, the consortium received HKD70 million in revenue from a fleet of 142 vehicles. Anthony Lam