New bus concessions to require more buses during peak traffic hours

Lam Hin San

The Transport Bureau (DSAT) has announced that it is discussing the improvement of bus services with bus companies.

DSAT Director Lam Hin San said during a TDM radio program yesterday, that DSAT’s highest priority is to solve the transport issues arising during peak times.

According to Lam, the number of bus passengers between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m. represents 35 percent of the total number of bus passengers on a daily basis.

On July 31, the contracts with Macau’s three bus companies will come to an end. DSAT hopes to improve the next contracts between the government and said companies by allowing them to run additional buses during peak traffic hours.

Another of DSAT’s considerations concerns the introduction of new routes to cater to the needs of passengers who board certain bus lines in the middle of the route.

Last year, bus companies opened additional routes, and according to Lam these routes are working effectively.

Lam revealed that bus companies will continue to launch more electric buses, and that the transportation authority will keep a close eye on their usage in Macau’s neighboring regions.

Regarding the new type of electric buses, Lam said that DSAT will consider using buses which have electrical generators attached to supplement the electricity demand of these buses. By doing so, they will assess whether this type of bus suits Macau.

Earlier, DSAT opened public tenders for another 100 electric taxis. The DSAT director expects these vehicles to be put into operation in the fourth quarter of this year. He then advised that using more electric taxis in the future is under consideration.

According to the DSAT director, at the end of 2017, Macau had more than 241,000 registered vehicles, representing a 3.6 percent decrease year-on-year.