Northbound travel for Macau vehicles surges by 38.7 pct in Jan–Nov 2024
APR26
Border crossing checks in cars 'not a bridge too far'
Currently, travellers driving across the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao bridge under the northbound travel scheme have to get out of their vehicles for such procedures.
Ringo Lee, honorary life president of the Hong Kong, China Automobile Association, told an RTHK radio show that in-vehicle checks could have sped things up during holidays such as the current Easter and Ching Ming break, when there are large numbers of cross-boundary travellers.
Passenger and car flows at the bridge exceeded 192,000 and 30,000 respectively during the first two days of the current holiday, he pointed out, adding that he expects the figures to hit record highs in the future.
"At the Zhuhai section [of the bridge], many groups of people are already undergoing inspection and clearance procedures while they stay inside the vehicle – for example, elderly people aged 70 or above, children, or those who have difficulty walking," Lee said.
"There are already systems in place, including automatic scans, facial and fingerprint recognition, and scans of home-return permits.
"They're all there, but it's just that they're only used under limited circumstances."
Even if there is a long queue of vehicles waiting to pass through boundary crossings, Lee said, it will save time for travellers to stay in their cars to wait for checks to be made instead of having to get on and off.
He hopes that ultimately, on-board clearances at the bridge can be arranged around the clock instead of just during peak hours.
More than 146,000 Hong Kong residents have passed through the bridge to enter the mainland on Friday and Saturday, according to the Immigration Department.
https://news.rthk.hk/rthk/en/component/k2/1850082-20260406.htm?spTabChangeable=0
The number of trips by Macau vehicles entering mainland China under the Northbound Travel for Macau Vehicles policy soared by 38.7 per cent year-on-year to nearly 1.39 million journeys in the first 11 months of 2024, the neighbouring Guangdong provincial authorities revealed.
Quoted by the Guangdong government-owned Nanfang Daily, the administration stated that this latest tally has surpassed the total volume for the entire year of 2023.
Since the introduction of the Northbound Travel for Macau Vehicles policy in early 2023, over 49,000 Macau drivers and more than 37,800 vehicles with Macau registration plates have registered and become eligible to journey to the mainland.
This initiative permits vehicles only with Macau registration plates to travel into Guangdong province, eliminating the need for plates from both Macau and the mainland, as was previously required. Initially capped at 100 cars per day, the maximum number of Macau vehicles permitted to travel to Guangdong daily under the scheme has now been raised to 2,000, with each trip lasting up to 30 days in the neighbouring province.
Starting from September, foreign passport-holding permanent residents of Macau are also eligible to apply under this scheme.
With an aim of accelerating the integration of Macau into the mainland, the Northbound Travel for Macau Vehicles policy has been identified as one of the factors leading to decreased local consumption in Macau, especially in residential and neighbourhood areas such as the northern district.
Meanwhile, Macau Daily News, the city’s largest newspaper, reported on Tuesday that the Guangdong authorities are looking to further “optimise” the Northbound Travel for Macau Vehicles policy and a similar initiative for Hong Kong in the future, without providing specific details.
The Guangdong administration added that it plans to “progressively accelerate” the Southbound Travel for Guangdong Vehicles policy, enabling vehicles with Guangdong registration plates only to travel to Hong Kong and Macau.
Last month, the Department of Transport of Guangdong unveiled administrative measures for Guangdong vehicles to access and exit the car parks at the Hong Kong Port of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge as the initial phase of Southbound Travel for Guangdong Vehicles. However, no official date has been set for Guangdong vehicles to enter the Hong Kong Port.
In addition, there have been no discussions regarding the entry of vehicles with Guangdong plates only into Macau, an issue that continues to be contentious within the local community due to traffic conditions in Macau.
https://www.macaubusiness.com/northbound-travel-for-macau-vehicles-surges-by-38-7-per-cent-in-jan-nov-2024/
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