Macao’s Light Rapid Transit (LRT) will be free to ride for three days between 29 September and 1 October, according to a statement released today. The train operator says the move is in honour of the 75th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China on 1 October and the 25th anniversary of the Macao SAR on 20 December.
Both residents and visitors may take advantage of the fare-free period, with the operator noting that passengers “do not need to buy tickets, but should follow the instructions of the LRT staff to enter and exit the gates.”
On the Chinese mainland, National Day is the start of a long break colloquially known as “golden week,” lasting until 7 October. To cope with the expected boom in visitors, the LRT will be extending its operating hours between 1 and 7 October, with the last train’s departure pushed back to 11:59 pm each evening.
According to local media outlets, Macao’s two public bus operators also announced this afternoon that they would not charge passengers for bus services on 1 October.
As many as 600,000 border crossings are expected in Macao during each day of the holiday, according to the Public Security Police Force’s Lei Tak Fai who spoke at a press conference reported by TDM yesterday.
Visitor arrivals, meanwhile, are expected to hit a daily average of 100,000, although the head of the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO), Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, recently said that if the weather remains fine, visitors could very well exceed this number.
[See more: Macao braces for a tourism boom during the National Day holidays]
In terms of the busiest day during Golden Week, Lei said that it was expected to fall on 5 October, with most crossings taking place via the Border Gate and Qingmao Port.
In order to cope with the influx of tourists, the Transport Department and the two public bus operators will extend the length and frequency of routes such as 3BX, 17T, 21AT, 26AT and 101XS during the holiday period.
Crowd control measures will also be put in place in tourist hotspots around the city, including Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro (colloquially known as San Ma Lo), while certain areas will see traffic rerouted. Buses headed towards Taipa Village will see a temporary shift in their stops, as parts of the area will be designated a pedestrian zone between 1 and 7 October from 12 pm to 7 pm.
Lau Nga Hong of the Transport Bureau added that “from noon to 8 pm between 1 and 7 October, we will be closing down traffic at the intersection from Rua do Dr Pedro José Lobo, heading in the direction of Avenida do Infante Dom Henrique.”
Golden week is among the busiest periods for Macao’s tourism industry. Last year’s holiday ran back-to-back with the Mid-Autumn Festival and attracted almost a million visitor arrivals.
