Macao’s Light Rapid Transit (LRT) system clocked almost 10 percent more passengers in January than in the month prior, continuing a promising trend for what has long been an under-utilised form of public transport.
January was the LRT’s second busiest month ever in its four year history, with an average of 25,300 daily passengers. The railway’s most popular month remains the one it was inaugurated in, December 2019. That saw the system record an average of 33,000 passengers per day, though the result was achieved largely thanks to free trips offered as an opening promotion.
Usage was decidedly lacklustre in the years that followed, partly due to the Covid-19 pandemic, with daily passenger numbers failing to exceed 10,000 between February 2020 and December 2023. Last year saw a daily average of 14,675 passengers, and the addition of two new lines in late 2024 led to increasing interest in the LRT.
[See more: How to use Macao’s LRT train system like a pro]
The short Seac Pai Van Line opened at the start of November, and was followed by the Hengqin Line in early December. The latter, passing beneath the body of water separating Macao from the mainland, enables speedy, straightforward travel between Cotai’s Lotus Station and the Macao Port Zone at Henqin.
These additions saw December record a daily average of 23,100 LRT passengers, up 36.7 percent compared to November’s average of 16,900. January’s usage, meanwhile, built on December’s tally by 9.52 percent.
The next LRT line scheduled to open is the East Line, which won’t be completed until 2029. This 7.7-kilometre track will run from the Border Gate through the reclaimed area currently called “New Urban Zone A” and into Taipa, providing northern residents and visitors from the mainland with a convenient way of reaching Macao’s airport and the Cotai casino district.
