Research Paper

Abstract

It is commonly known that human beings are cleverer than animals because they are able to become scientific; and they can invent tools and technologies for their own good. Humans always try to overcome the difficulties they meet and the difficult environment they are living in. The invention of transport belongs to one of the advanced technologies. At the very beginning, people only walk by foot to get to another place before there is any type of transport. Gradually, they found walking being limited to a certain distance on land, so they began to use animals like donkeys and horses to carry them. After that, people began to invent tools like the sedan chair and rickshaw. Horse-drawn carriage then began to appear and afterwards came the bicycles. The cleverness of humans and technologies improve their lives time after time. At the meantime, the most advanced type of mass land public transport is the Mass Transit Railway (MTR). In the paper, I will concentrate only on the mass land public transport and talk about the history of these transports of both Macao and Hong Kong. I will mention them in chronological order. With the sedan chair first and the underground railway in Hong Kong or the light rail in Macao last. In the paper, Macao’s earliest kind of land public transport, pedicab will also be mentioned. Pedicabs have been fading away, but until today, minimum amount of them still exists in Macao for tourism purposes. Some people argued that the light rail of Macao will not be of great use and that by the meantime, the serious traffic problem of Macao may also not be improved with the new light rail. People may not turn to rely on the light rail as their main transport; therefore, meanwhile, buses may still continue to be the major kind of mass land public transport in Macao. When comparing the transportation system of the two cities, it seems that the transportation system of Hong Kong is more efficient, probably because its geographical area and the concern of its government made it looks so good.

A Research Project on "History of Mass Land Public Transport in Macao and Hong Kong"
By Bibiana Chu

Hong Kong, the well known international city of Asia, is a large city with 1,103.97 km2 land area, and consists of four islands, which are namely, Hong Kong Island, Lantau Island, Kowloon Peninsula and the New Territories. In total, Hong Kong encompasses a collection of 262 islands in the South China Sea (Hong Kong). Although Macao is very near to Hong Kong, and had already been put into the world map, it is an extremely small dot that almost cannot be seen. Compared to Hong Kong, Macao is very tiny on the contrary. According to the latest statistics of Macao Special Administrative Region Macao Cartography and Cadastre Bureau in 2006, it is shown that ‘Macao (including Taipa and Coloane) has totally 28.6 km2 of land area' (Geographic Information). Actually, this figure is already the figure which was the result of sustainably land filling since 1866 (Macau). Since Hong Kong is dozens of time larger than Macao and more people live in Hong Kong, it needs more varieties of mass public transport. For the mass land public transport, Hong Kong has six types, bus, taxi, tram, cable car, train and MTR to serve the citizens and also tourists. Especially the MTR, it can carry hundreds to thousands of people every time. Together with the MTR, it looks as if the transport system of Hong Kong is more efficient.

Compared to Hong Kong, in the meantime, Macao does not have tram, train and the MTR. In this tiny city, there are only buses and taxis available to people as the major kind of mass land public transport in Macao. Buses act as the major mass land public transport for local citizens and sometimes also taxis. Taxis are even now the main type of mass land public transport for tourists. To some people, Macao may look like an old fashion place when compared with some developed countries and cities like Canada and Hong Kong, since it is still using buses and taxis as its main public transport. Macao seemed to have stopped its development in public transportation. However, people might have neglected the fact that Hong Kong is almost 39 times larger than Macao; and since then, it has larger land area and can leave more space and broader roads for transports. Moreover, due to Hong Kong’s large geographical area and population, it needs a kind of mass transport which can pass through Hong Kong in a high speed. As a matter a fact, the underground railway, MTR, became the kind of transport Hong Kong demands. As Macao is a small city, it is very easy for people to get from one place to another. For example, it just takes about 20-30 minutes by bus to go to Taipa from the Macao peninsula. So, it is not a big problem to people. Hence, the government of Macao did not think there is any need to improve the public transportation system before its rapid development in gaming industry. Buses then became the major kind of mass land public transport for the people in Macao.

Aside from buses , cars and taxis, actually, like Hong Kong, there are also cable cars in Macao but very few people except tourists use them; and there are only limited amount and they are only limited to one place. Since Macao is a very small city with a few hundred thousand people, the government did not think there is any need to add more kinds of mass land public transport. Only recently, with the rapid growth of economy and tourism, the image of Macao looks better and better every day. Along with that, traffic problems then pop up in a sudden and even become worser everyday. This is the reason which made the government consider of adding a new type of transport. Very soon, Macao will have one more type of mass land public transport added to its list. The light rapid transit or as being called as light rail, a little bit similar to the MTR of Hong Kong, which can transport a larger amount of passengers each time, will come to Macao at about few years time. As my whole paper talks about the history of mass land public transport in Macao and Hong Kong, I will investigate one by one the earliest date of every type of these transport in the two cities chronologically. I will also find out how and why they come. To start with, I will first talk about the sedan chair in Hong Kong, the earliest kind of transport used by people in Hong Kong to get to another destination before motorized transports were introduced.

Sedan Chair (轎) was the earliest kind of public transport used in Hong Kong. In 1870, sedan chair became popular. Its service was provided on the peak of the Pacific Mountain and its terrace area. They were used by British officials and rich Chinese businessmen. When the British colonized Hong Kong between 1842 and 1860, there were very few roads in Hong Kong. There were only narrow streets and alleys. The British officials liked to live in beautiful peaceful mountain peak and rich Chinese liked to live in the terrace area. They felt very inconvenient whenever they need to get up and down the mountain to downtown. Thus, these people then imported some sedan chair from Guangzhou. As sedan chair was light and is easy to carry, it around the mountain areas, it became one of various major kinds of public transport. Later, rickshaw appeared and only about half the number of sedan chair remained. However, rickshaw could not get up the mountain and cable car had only a few stops, people found them not convenient and continued to use the sedan chair. Only after 1930, rich people living at the terrace area bought cars themselves, thus, only small number of sedan chair remained. In 1954, sedan chair died out (translated by Bibiana) (LeePoSin). Even until today, some poor, underdeveloped places in China still use the sedan chair as a kind of transport to carry people up and down mountain regions; as they are so poor that they do not have any other kind of transport for them to use. After the sedan chair, rickshaw came to Hong Kong.

Rickshaw (人力車) came into Hong Kong in 1890. Actually, rickshaw was originated in Japan. Its Japanese name is ‘jinrikisha’ (Macau). It was a missionary who brought rickshaw into Hong Kong and later rich people also imported rickshaw from Japan for private use. Rickshaw eventually became very popular throughout Hong Kong. It was said that in its most flourishing period, there were about 3000 of them and about 8000 rickshaw drivers in the city. After 1930 the popularity of rickshaw declined, as rich people turned to buy and use cars. After 1970, rickshaw were then weed out. Only dozens of them were remained at the Star Ferry and Tsim Sha Tsui for people to shoot photos. Similar to Macao, some of them are being preserved for tourism purposes. It acts as a distinguishable type of transport in Hong Kong (translated by Bibiana) (LeePoSin). Next to the rickshaw was the invention of cable cars which travel up and down mountain regions in Hong Kong.

Cable Car (纜車) came to Hong Kong because of the British people. In the past, the British people lived high up the Pacific Mountain. Whenever they need to go to downtown, they need to get down the hill by going through winding routes. This caused a great inconvenience to them. Hence, they created cable car in 1888. At first, it is moved by steam and had only 30 seats. Only until 1926, electricity replaced steam as its source of power and had about 50 seats. In 1948, the whole cabin was made out of metal, and in 1959 onwards, 72 seats are available and the whole cable car cabin was made out of aluminum, which was then being used until today (translated by Bibiana) (LeePoSin). Actually, there is another kind of cable car which looks similar in appearance to the ones used in Jardim da Flora in Macao is the cable cars we ride in The Ocean Park. They are also called as crane(吊車) by people. The only difference is that each of them has six seats available and takes eight minutes and thirty seconds for each ride (Ocean Park Hong Kong). Recently, a new type of cable car appeared in Hong Kong. This latest model has changed a little in its appearance and ropeway. They are the ones which are being used by the Ngong Ping 360.

This type of cable car is called as Ngong Ping Skyrail in the Ngong Ping 360. These cable cars travel between Tung Chung Town Centre and Ngong Ping (昂坪)on Lantau Island. It is special because people could ‘enjoy some of the best views in Hong Kong. Cable cars glides over the South China Sea and North Lantau Country Park on 20-25 minutes. Views of the Hong Kong International Airport, verdant, mountainous terrain of Lantau Island and the Tian Tan Buddha Statue' (Skyrail) will also be viewable by people throughout this cable car journey. Each of them is a ‘17-person cable car cabin’, with 10 seated and 7 standing. ‘Ngong Ping Skyrail is a bi-cable ropeway; the first of its kind to be installed in Hong Kong. This type of ropeway system was selected as it allows long spans between towers; and it was also chosen for its safety and reliability and will provide guests with a smooth and comfortable journey. Another good point of Ngong Ping Skyrail is, it is suitable for people of all ages and abilities. Elderly and disabled passengers, including those with wheelchairs, could also get into the cabin and enjoy the nice view of Hong Kong.’ It could be seen that they are circumspect. They had also thought about the needs and rights of the disabled, which is not commonly seen (Ngong Ping 360). Cable Car remains as the kind of mass land public transport for people to use to go up and down mountains. Even until now, no other kind of mass land public transport can replace it. Then, we came to the tram in Hong Kong.

Tram (電車) is also popularly known and called as ‘Ding Ding’ by people because when it is working, it will create a ding ding sound time to time. Tram is a slow and cheap kind of mass land transport in Hong Kong which still remains as one of the most popular kind of mass land public transport to the people. Do not think that the tram of Hong Kong nowadays look exactly the same as those in the past. Actually, they have gone through a few changes in their appearance. The Tram system of Hong Kong started operating in 1904. Its route is from Wan Chai to Shau Kei Wan and the Happy Valley (horse racing ground).By 1912, double deck tram began to appear. But the upper deck is open to the air and by this time, there had been a lot of complaints from the customers. So the tram company used canvas as cover. Only until 1923, canvas was being replaced by wood to be tram’s upper deck’s cover. Only now can we see that they have the whole tram with both deck cover with metal (translated by Bibiana) (LeePoSin). I have personally tried to ride on a tram before, and felt that it is a very special kind of transport which gave me a special feeling. Tram is a distinguishable kind of transport. Next, train came to Hong Kong.

Train is called as (火車) in Chinese. Actually, there is a legend about the invention of this name by the Chinese. Trains at first are steam-hauled, they used steam as their sources of power, and in order to do so, they need to burn coal sustainably. When people saw the burning coal inside the head of the train, they named it as ‘fire car’. During the 1950s, train began to use diesel oil as their energy. In 1962, ‘steam-hauled’ (Kowloon-Canton Railway) was not being used anymore. In 1973, the Kowloon-Canton Railway (九廣鐵路) began to build dual track and carry out the Railway Electrification. In 1982 May completed the first stage of the Electrification Project (translated by Bibiana) (LeePoSin). Even until today, train is still being used in Hong Kong. After train came the bus.

Buses appeared because in the past, there was no tram in Kowloon; and only rich people can transport with rickshaw. Therefore, there was not any kind of public transport for the citizens. The Kowloon Car Company then provided bus services to people between Tsim Sha Tsui and Sham Shui Po in 1921. Interestingly, the situation of buses in Hong Kong is exactly the opposite of Macao. In the past, buses of Hong Kong were firstly single-deck buses. Only in 1949 Hong Kong changed to use double-deck (translated by Bibiana) (LeePoSin). Today, there are five bus companies providing their services to the people of Hong Kong. But the most commonly recognized and heard are Kowloon Motor Bus (KMB) (九巴), KCR Feeder Bus (KCR)(九鐵巴士) and Citybus (城巴) (Buses in Hong Kong). After bus, taxi appeared.

Taxi (的士)’s Cantonese name is actually the pinyin translation of the English word "Taxi". Taxi started providing its service to people as early as the 1947. By that time, there were just 329 of them. By 1960 the service covered the New Territories also and there had been an increase to 1,026 cars. By 1980, the number of taxis would multiply to 10,000. There are three types of taxis in Hong Kong, namely, urban taxis (red), which serve all areas in Hong Kong. New Territories taxis (green), which serve only parts of the New Territories; and Lantau taxis (blue) run exclusively on southern Lantau Island, Tung Chung. All three types of taxis serve the Hong Kong International Airport and Disneyland. The colours of taxis were split in the 1960s; the reason why there are three types of taxis is to avoid having no taxis serving the less densely built-up areas of the territory, as running in the urban centre was considered much more profitable. When drivers would make a higher profit in a more populated area like Hong Kong island versus rural Kowloon. The restriction enforced the taxis to provide service to a particular region regardless (Taxicabs of Hong Kong).

Meanwhile, Hong Kong taxi drivers are facing a bad time. I remembered recently when I go to Hong Kong; I heard the driver said he envied much the taxi drivers in Macao. The reason is that since Macao is developing so well and so fast these years. Many people came to visit Macao and come for gambling in Macao’s casinos. As a matter of fact, the flourishing tourism of Macao increases profits of taxi drivers. He said that he could not earn enough every month in Hong Kong. Every time when he queue up and wait for passengers, he normally needs to wait for about an hour. He is having a hard time in his occupation and in his living. He would very much like to be taxi drivers in Macao also as then he could earn so much everyday. After talking so much about the public transport of Hong Kong, it is time to talk about the mass land public transport in Macao. It finally came to the year for public transport to appear and serve the people in Macao. The first kind of transport which arrived in Macao was the pedicab.

In 1950s, pedicab (三輪車) or its other name, trishaw became one of the major kinds of public transport in Macao. The information of how did they come to Macao remained unknown even in the Macao Yearbook. The trishaw was a mix of the bicycle and the rickshaw (cycle rickshaw). It was a unique but rather slow way to move about for sightseeing. In the 50s, the government of Macao even published license for the pedicab and driving license to each pedicab driver. By 1990, only 200 pedicabs remained and in 1994, their numbers even decrease further. By this time, their customers became only tourists. They could be found at the pedicab stations outside Hotel Lisboa, the Ferry Terminal, and the Palace Entertainment Centre. In 1989, the government restricted pedicab to earn MOP$40 per hour. After the introduction of cars and buses, trishaw can no more compete with them concerning its speed. Trishaw had not served as a practical method of public transport in Macau for many years. However, it is a good idea to use the trishaw to roam around in Nanwan Lake or other interesting areas. There is no standard fee for trishaw service, so one may need to negotiate with the owner first (Macau).

Trishaw was once extremely popular in Macao. I heard my parents said that in the old days, trishaw was so popularize that people even used trishaw to transport small amount of big piece furniture like refrigerator. In addition, trishaw could be found in almost most of the tourist attraction sites. They were the tourists’ favorites. Indeed, anyone could be a pedicab driver in the past. They do not need to get any license like the bus or taxi drivers. But afterwards, they were being required to get license for driving the pedicab (Macao Yearbook). Trishaw was so popular in the old days before motorized transports were used. But as buses and taxis were introduced, they replaced trishaw. Through the years, pedicabs have been fading away from Macao. Nowadays, a small number of trishaw still exists that seems to be serving as tourism purposes. But they are limited to Hotel Lisboa and the Macao Hong Kong Ferry Terminal. We nearly could not find them in other places except for these two. Trishaw had once been a very well know distinguishable kind of transport in Macao. Many tourists use them as sightseeing by taking a round slowly of Macao. However, due to the open market of gaming industry and the rapid expansion of Macao, there is a large increase in the number of people and motor vehicles; causing serious traffic problem in Macao. Hence, trishaw no longer have any space to operate and drive along. Moreover, the MSAR government also did not do much to maintain this distinguishable transport of Macao or even mentioned them in the tourist’s guidebook. In the near future, trishaw may then disappear and it will only be found in the Museum of Macao. The second type of land public transport which came to Macao was the bus.

In Macao, there are two public franchise bus companies which operate routes on the Macao peninsula and the two islands. They are namely the Transportes Urbanos de Macau (Transmac) and Sociedade de Transportes Colectivos de Macau (TCM).

Transportes Urbanos de Macau (Transmac) was previously known as Companhia de Autocarros Fok Lei. It was founded in 1948; it was restructured and changed its name to Transportes Urbanos de Macau in July 1988. Now, Transmac is the largest bus company in Macao. As of December 2004, Transmac owned 343 air-conditioned buses and operated 26 routes between Macao and the two islands. In recent years, Transmac has even expanded its business on the mainland. Additionally, it is also the only bus company which offers the e-ticket IC card system and bus-to-bus interchange service. Moreover, Transmac has also introduced environmentally friendly low-platform buses that suit Macao’s traffic conditions (Macao Yearbook).

Sociedade de Transportes Colectivos de Macau (TCM) was previously known as Companhia de Transporte de Passageiros entre Macau e as Ilhas). Actually, this company originally provided maritime transportation services (ferry) between Macao and the two islands in the early times. Only in 1950s, it acquired several bus companies that served residents of Taipa and Coloane, and thereafter stop providing maritime transportation services and change to operate public buses. The company purchases a number of famous-brand air-conditioned buses and put them into operation as public buses serving Macao and its islands. TCM now operates more than 200 air-conditioned buses on 16 routes on the Macao peninsula and the two islands. Bus Fares range from 2.5 patacas within the Macao peninsula to 5 patacas to Coloane (Macao Yearbook).

The appearance and size of Macao buses have also been changing and improving continuously through times. In these past few years, the two bus companies have imported buses which are bigger, quieter, better in quality, more comfortable interior and also good-looking both from the inside and outside. This shows that they are improving and keep changing, as they are trying to attract more passengers to take their buses and earn more.

There is one interesting thing about the buses in Macao. It has been said that actually like Hong Kong, there were also double-deck buses once in Macao. But because the streets of Macao were narrow and the signboards are not high enough, it was really difficult for double-deck buses to pass through. The government of Macao had once thought of raising the signboards and expanding the roads. However, because this was a big project and really needed a lot of money, therefore, the government required the bus companies to pay two third of this sum of reconstruction and the bus companies rejected to do so. As a result, the government abolished using double-deck buses. That is also the reason why until today, the buses of Macao still remain as single-deck buses (The development of Buses).

Concerning buses, I am so unhappy with them. I personally do not own any car, so buses become my major kind of transport. But with the problem of increasing number of residents, and without also increasing enough amounts of buses, it creates a problem that people could not even get into the buses. Very often, people take a long time to wait for the bus, and when the bus finally comes, it is already full of people. This makes rush hour people often arrive at work or school late. This problem pops up because of the open market of gaming industry in Macao. Casinos hire a lot of people in Macao to work for them and they use high pay to attract people. Eventually, many people go to work in Casinos. The bus companies indeed have also been affected somehow, as bus drivers also go to work in the casinos and not many people are willing to drive bus. Bus drivers decrease proportionally. This also decrease the number of buses at the same time as no one drive the bus, and that is why citizens are so difficult to take bus.

The problem of buses cannot continue like this, the government has to do something with it. If the government increases the number of buses, the traffic problem will even become more serious than it is now, so this is not possible. I came up with an idea to lessen the seriousness of the problem, but was not sure that if it is possible. Is it possible to use double-deck buses for the busiest stops in Macao? I think this could be one solution to it, as double-deck buses can transport more people without increasing the number of buses. Of course, the method needs the government to support. That is, by moving up the signboards and reconstructing public facilities like cross-over bridges and street lights of Macao. Only then can the double-deck buses pass through. Then, we came to the year when the mass transit railway start operating in Hong Kong.

At the end of 2004, Macao had 650 licensed black taxis and 100 yellow taxis. The number of licensed taxi drivers in Macao is 3,857 (Macao Yearbook). Today, Macao does not only have to face the buses problems, it also needs to face the problems of taxis. There are only a few thousand taxis, including very little yellow taxis, which serve a few hundred thousand people and an unknown figure of mainland tourists that come to visit Macao everyday. An extremely shortage of taxis, which cannot also fulfill the demands of local citizens. With the flourishing gaming industry, taxi drivers only like to choose and serve tourists who go to casinos because they can then earn more. Taxi drivers do not like to serve local residents. Taxi drivers in Macao nowadays all go to queue up outside casinos to wait for these rich customers. Or you can find them rather in the Border Gate. You can not find them on the streets; you can only find them either outside casinos or outside the Border Gate. This makes citizens almost unable to get any taxi in the street or by phone; and is also the reason why it is also a big problem to the Macao citizens. In my observation, normally, only black taxis can queue up outside casinos and the border gate. Probably, the government could give out more licenses to the yellow taxi company, making the number of yellow taxis increase. By doing this, citizens could then catch taxis on the street or by phone; and they have taxis to ride. Cable car then came to Macao.

The Mass Transit Railway (MTR) is the main rapid transit railway system in Hong Kong and the first in south-east Asia. The MTR service began in 1979, with the first line opened. The network has expanded to encompass seven lines and 53 stations along 91.0 kilometres (56.5 miles). The MTR system was constructed and is operated by MTR Corporation Limited. Due to its efficiency and affordability, the MTR system is a common transportation mode of public transport in Hong Kong, with an average of 2.557 million journeys recorded each day as of January 2007. The integration of the Octopus smart card fare-payment technology into the MTR system in September 1997 has further enhanced the ease of commuting with the MTR. During the 1960s, the government of Hong Kong saw a need to accommodate increasing road traffic as Hong Kong's economy continued to grow strongly. The Hong Kong Government had previously commissioned a study to find solutions to the growing traffic problem caused by the expansion of the city's economy. In 1967, construction of the MTR was prompted by a government-commissioned study. The MTR was immediately popular with residents of Hong Kong. As a result, subsequent lines have been built to cover more territory (MTR). Now, we come back to Macao. The third kind of public transport which appeared in Macao was taxi.

In Macao, we can see that cable cars are only available in one place. That is, Jardim da Flora (二龍喉公園). They are being used by people to have a whole view of Macao by slowly going up and down the mountain. The cable cars start to operate since 1 October 1997. Each cable car holds four seats. It takes about one minute and twenty seconds for going up the mountain. As it is normal to think that, cable cars are like buses, a kind of service which is available to everybody everyday. But the funniest thing is that, cable cars in this garden are not working on every Monday (Jardim da Flora). It seems that the life of people in Macao is really relaxed, and they can do whatever they like. Compare to Hong Kong, cable cars operate everyday. This shows why Hong Kong people are seen as hard-working and the city is in order. In addition, I find that the cable car in Macao is not so practical. The mountain of Jardim da Flora is a place where people always go jogging and do exercises, and people will usually go up the mountain by foot because it is not too high. It only takes about 10 to 15 minutes, and not many people will use the cable car. Compared with Hong Kong, both the Pacific mountain and the mountain situated in the Ocean Park are very high, so people really need cable cars to get to the mountain top. These cable cars are used by many people everyday and they are practical. As the cable cars in Jardim da Flora are not used very often, they are kind of waste money and waste resources. Last but not least, we come to the light rail (輕軌), the latest kind of mass land public transport which will very soon appear in Macao.

The serious traffic problem Macao is now facing is similar to that of Hong Kong in the year 1960s. By that time, as there was an expansion of Hong Kong’s economy, it also caused continuous problems to the traffic. In order to solve the matter, the Hong Kong Government built the Mass Transit Railway (MTR) which could carry a large amount of passengers every time. Since the booming of gaming industry, Macao has been facing the same problem similar to the one that Hong Kong once had. Traffic problem became serious in Macao. Therefore, the government needs to think of a solution to it. The government of Macao learned and followed the resolution of Hong Kong; and tried to do the same thing to solve similar problems. They wanted to use the ‘rail rapid-transit system’ (MTR) as the solution. Unfortunately, Macao has a great difference with its extremely small land area, and with the reason that ‘it would cost three or four times more to build the underground rail than the elevated system’ (Macaubusiness); and it has also been said that there are a lot of electricity wires below the areas of Lisboa, therefore it is not possible to dig an underground and build the MTR. The government of Macao wanted to build a mass transit but could not follow exactly what Hong Kong did and build an underground railway. Therefore, ‘the Macao SAR government asked for some experts of the Hong Kong MTR Corporation Limited about opinions and finally came up with a suggestion’ (Macau Light Transit System). That is, to build the elevated light rail transit system. In which the railways are built above the roads. ‘The supporting columns footprint will occupy a minimum amount of road network surface’ (Macao LRT System In-depth Study), so that it will not affect greatly on people’s daily lives. Additionally, it can also help to ‘relieve the growing traffic congestion’ (Macaubusiness) that Macao is now having.

'This proposal was introduced to the public by the Government in October 2006' (Macau Light Transit System). The proposed project has been undergoing the introduction to the public; and had only been finally decided to be built on 04 May 2007 due to the complaint and demonstration of the serious traffic problems in Macao on 01 May 2007. On 04 May 2007, the MSAR government had announced that the Macao Light Transit System will begin in 2008, month still unknown (Macao Daily News). The estimated time for the construction of the first-phase of the light rail is about 4 years (Macau Light Transit System). Hopefully, the first-phase of the transport can be ready by 2012. But ‘the whole planned network may require 8 years to be completely built. The proposed system is similar to the Singapore Light Rapid Transit, which is a driverless system. The network would be comprised of three lines: Loop Line, which is a circular route on the Macau Peninsula connecting with the Macao-Taipa Line. Macau-Taipa Line, a route with connections with the Airport Shuttle Line on Taipa and the Loop Line on the Macau Peninsula via Ponte de Sai Van. The lower deck of the Sai Van Bridge is reserved for the light rail. Airport Shuttle Line, a spur line of the Macau-Taipa Line to Macau International Airport’ (Macau Light Transit System).

'The Macao SAR Government by the meantime is till carrying out an intensified research on the introduction of a rapid transit railway system into Macao' (Macao Light Rapid Transit System In-depth Study); and already made a thorough plan of it. They hoped that by doing this, they can create favourable conditions and achieve some long-term goals like: to relieve the pressure on the public transportation system is the main aim. Next, they also wanted to enhance the capacity to serve large number of tourists, so that more people will come to visit Macao and they could make more money. Third, they can promote the integration of the MSAR in the Pearl River Delta. Fourth, this kind of system can reduce pollution, which the government has also been concerned about. Fifth, the light rapid transit system can provide a reliable, safe, high-capacity and comfortable public transportation service to their people, hence, improving the quality of people’s lives at the same time. Finally, the government thinks that the light rail can also pushes forward the sustainable development of Macao (Macao Light Rapid Transit System In-depth Study).

The Macao government had summed up some characteristics of the proposed elevated light rail transit system. They are: A 2-car-train can carry around 200 passengers each time. A 4 car-train can carry up to 8,000 passengers per hour per direction with a 3 minute headway. An average headway takes about 3 to 6 minutes. Supporting columns footprint they are going to use will occupy a minimum amount of road network surface and will not affect greatly on the road traffic. The light rail will use recyclable traction energy and it will be equipped with a reliable evacuation system. The viaducts will be designed in order to minimize the visual impact. In addition, the light rail is a kind of reliable, safe, comfortable and environmentally friendly system. Moreover, rubber tyres will be used as to reduce noise it will make; and this can reduce noise pollution to the city (Macao Light Rapid Transit System In-depth Study).

Additionally, the MSAR government had also thought of the train and station design. Platform screen doors will be installed for safety. They will also introduce the environmentally friendly design in the stations in order to make good use of natural light and ventilation. Escalators and lifts will be available inside the stations; and in the major stations, feeder and interchange facilities for other public transports will also be provided (Macao Light Rapid Transit System In-depth Study). All these sounds very good and caring for the passengers.

By the meantime, the MSAR government had proposed the Border Gate, Areia Preta, Outer Harbour Ferry Terminal, NAPE, Nam Van District and Barra (關閘, 黑沙環, 外港碼頭, 新口岸新填海區, 南灣區, 媽閣)as the stops of the Macao peninsula; and Sai Van Bridge, Macao Stadium, Bifurcation in Baia da Nossa Senhora da Esperanca, separate routes connecting the Macau International Airport and Pac On Ferry Terminal or COTAI (西灣大橋, 澳門運動場, 望德聖母灣, 可分別往澳門國際機場、北安碼頭或路乙水城) to be stops of the Taipa island. To start with, the first-phase of the development will be constructed. Proposed route of the first-phase development would be chosen from either route A or B and also a decision from route C or D. The alignment options of route A includes the Border Gate, Avenida Norte do Hipodromo, Avenida do Nordeste, Avenida de Venceslau de Morais, Rua dos Pescadores and Avenida da Amizade (關閘, 馬場北大馬路, 東北大馬路, 慕拉士大馬路, 漁翁街, 友誼大馬路) of the North District. Route B includes the Border gate, Avenida Norte do Hipodromo, Avenida Leste do Hipodromo, Estrada Marginal da Areia Preta, Avenida Dr. Francisco Vieira Machado and Avenida da Amizade (關閘, 馬場北大馬路, 馬場東大馬路, 黑沙環海邊馬路, 馬揸度博士大馬路, 友誼大馬路) in the North District. Or the alignment options could be route C or D. The alignment options of route C will then be Av. da Amizade, Av. Dr. Sun Yat Sen and Av. 24 de Junho (友誼大馬路, 孫逸仙大馬路, 城市日大馬路) of NAPE, or Av. da Amizade, Rua de Londres and Av. 24 de Junho (友誼大馬路, 倫敦街, 城市日大馬路) in NAPE (Macao Light Rapid Transit System In-depth Study). The government is consulting their people about which route they would prefer to choose, route A or B and route C or D.

Some people argued that the LRT can not improve the traffic problem of Macao. Even if the government builds it, only limited amount of people will really make use of it. Some argued that Macao is such a small place that the LRT is not necessary. It is just a waist of money. Some think that the LRT system is not very convenient and it is not practical (Ip, 2005). As a result, the light rail that is going to be built may not be of great use.

To me, on the one hand, I think it is not so bad. I think at least, it could help lessen the serious traffic problem of Macao. At least, I could have one more way/choice/possibility to get to another destination. If I cannot catch the bus, or whenever I cannot get into the bus, I could take or get into the LRT at least. If I am in a hurry, the LRT is a faster way for me to get to my desired destination. It also helps to reduce an amount of passengers that buses have to carry. At least, in these few areas, it is useful. On the other hand, in my personal opinion, the light rail also has disadvantages. Similar to the MTR in Hong Kong, before getting onto the LRT and after getting off, people need to take some time either to walk to the stations or get to their destinations by foot, or take the feeder and interchange facilities of other kind of public transports before they could finally reach their destinations. For people who are in a hurry and are almost late, they will find it painful. When compared to the close bus stops we are having now, if we take buses, we only have to take one kind of mass transport and can already directly get to another place. Even after taking off the bus, we only need to walk a small distance in order to reach our destinations. From here, I personally feel that the light transit system is not direct and less convenient than buses.

In addition, it seems that the light transit system could not really help much. Actually, by looking closely to the stops that I have mentioned previously, the light rail is only going to pass through places along the sea area of Macao, and will not pass through inner Macao and the center of Macao. As a matter of fact, big stops like ‘Avenida de Horta e Costa (高士德), the Central and Rua do Campo(水坑尾)’ (Macau Government Tourist Office) , will also not be passed through. And people could not use this service; it is impractical for people to go to the Border Gate to take the light rail. Hence, people will continue with the traffic problem. But on the other hand, it can decrease a little pressure of the traffic problem, at least people leave near Border Gate and Nam Van District can take the light rail and buses can reduce a number of passengers.

With these problems raised, I think the light rail will not replace the buses of Macao and become the major kind of public transport; and buses may still remain as the main kind of mass land public transport in Macao for some more years. Perhaps, with the continuous land filling, in the future, the sea coastal line of Macao we are having now will become the city centre of Macao and the light rail will then be traveling in the city centre. By that time, people may then find the light rail very convenient and the light rail may one day become the major kind of mass land public transport of Macao. But meanwhile, buses are still the major kind of mass land public transport in Macao and the traffic problems of Macao may not possibly be improved with the coming new light rail.

Macao is developing with its booming gaming industry and seems to have a bright future. It is also called as the ‘Las Vegas of the East’. This led many people from China to come and immigrate in Macao and a lot of mainland tourists come to visit the ‘Las Vegas of the East’. But behind Macao’s development, actually, there are a lot of problems hidden. One of these problems is the serious traffic problems caused by its rapid expansion. The mass land public transportation system is the matter which the MSAR government needs to solve as soon as possible. The major mass land public transportation system used by the people in Macao also needs to be developed. However, also due to the geographical reasons of Macao and some other reasons, Macao cannot apply the same kind of mass transportation system, (making use of the tram and the underground rail, MTR) like Hong Kong. Hence, the government has finally decided to build a light rail to solve Macao’s traffic problems. But how efficient or useful will the light rail really be is still an unknown question at the meantime. It still needs to wait for the attitudes of the public towards the light rail after they have used it. But one thing can be sure; Macao's mass land public transportation system will not be as efficient as Hong Kong's; at least in the meantime.


Works Cited

Ip, Y. C. (2005). inmediahk. Columns. ‘The expanding Macao (Macau Light Transit System Report II)’. http://www.inmediahk.net/public/article?item_id=27277&group_id=11

Ip, Y. C. (2005). inmediahk. Columns. ‘The problematic Macau Light Transit System (Macau Light Transit System Report I)’. http://www.inmediahk.net/public/article?item_id=27254&group_id=11

LeePoSin Former Land Public Transport of Hong Kong.ppt.

Macao Daily News (2007) ‘The Macao Light Rapid Transit System will begin next year and finish in four years’. 04/05/2007. http://www.macaodaily.com/

Macao Light Rapid Transit System In-depth Study (2006). Publisher: Macao Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China – Office for Infrastructure Development

Macao Yearbook (2005). Published by the Government Information Bureau of the Macao Special Administrative Region. (p.461-462).

Macau Government Tourist Office (2007), Tourist Map http://www.macautourism.gov.mo/en/discovering/map.php

Macaubusiness ‘Taking the High Road’ 8 November 2006.

Ngong Ping 360. Skyrail-ITM (Hong Kong) Ltd (2006). http://www.np360.com.hk/html/eng/np360_exp/skyrail_index.html?play=off&continue1=yes&soundpos

The development of Buses http://www.directel.com.mo/hundred/bus.html

The government of Macao SAR Geographic Information Macao Special Administrative Region Macao Cartography and Cadastre Bureau http://www.gis.gov.mo/dscc/engl/newfirst.htm

Wikipedia Buses in Hong Kong http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buses_in_Hong_Kong

Wikipedia Hong Kong http://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%A6%99%E6%B8%AF#.E8.87.AA.E7.84.B6.E5.9C.B0.E7.90.86

Wikipedia Jardim da Flora http://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%BA%8C%E9%BE%8D%E5%96%89%E5%85%AC%E5%9C%92#.E7.99.BB.E5.B1.B1.E7.BA.9C.E8.BB.8A

Wikipedia Kowloon-Canton Railway http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%B9%9D%E5%BB%A3%E9%90%B5%E8%B7%AF#History_of_the_KCR

Wikipedia Macau http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macau#Transportation

Wikipedia Macau http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macau#Transportation

Wikipedia Macau Light Transit System http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macao_Light_Transit_System

Wikipedia MTR http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MTR

Wikipedia Ocean Park Hong Kong http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocean_Park%2C_Hong_Kong

Wikipedia Taxicabs of Hong Kong http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxis_of_Hong_Kong

Bibliography

Ip, Y. C. (2005). inmediahk. Columns. ‘The expanding Macao (Macau Light Transit System Report II)’. http://www.inmediahk.net/public/article?item_id=27277&group_id=11

Ip, Y. C. (2005). inmediahk. Columns. ‘The problematic Macau Light Transit System (Macau Light Transit System Report I)’. http://www.inmediahk.net/public/article?item_id=27254&group_id=11

LeePoSin Former Land Public Transport of Hong Kong.ppt.

Macao Daily News (2007) ‘The Macao Light Rapid Transit System will begin next year and finish in four years’. 04/05/2007. http://www.macaodaily.com/

Macao Light Rapid Transit System In-depth Study (2006). Publisher: Macao Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China – Office for Infrastructure Development

Macao Yearbook (2005). Published by the Government Information Bureau of the Macao Special Administrative Region. (p.461-462).

Macau Government Tourist Office (2007), Tourist Map http://www.macautourism.gov.mo/en/discovering/map.php

Macaubusiness ‘Taking the High Road’ 8 November 2006.

Ngong Ping 360. Skyrail-ITM (Hong Kong) Ltd (2006). http://www.np360.com.hk/html/eng/np360_exp/skyrail_index.html?play=off&continue1=yes&soundpos

The development of Buses http://www.directel.com.mo/hundred/bus.html

The government of Macao SAR Geographic Information Macao Special Administrative Region Macao Cartography and Cadastre Bureau http://www.gis.gov.mo/dscc/engl/newfirst.htm

Wikipedia Buses in Hong Kong http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buses_in_Hong_Kong

Wikipedia Hong Kong http://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%A6%99%E6%B8%AF#.E8.87.AA.E7.84.B6.E5.9C.B0.E7.90.86

Wikipedia Jardim da Flora http://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%BA%8C%E9%BE%8D%E5%96%89%E5%85%AC%E5%9C%92#.E7.99.BB.E5.B1.B1.E7.BA.9C.E8.BB.8A

Wikipedia Kowloon-Canton Railway http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%B9%9D%E5%BB%A3%E9%90%B5%E8%B7%AF#History_of_the_KCR

Wikipedia Macau http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macau#Transportation

Wikipedia Macau http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macau#Transportation

Wikipedia Macau Light Transit System http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macao_Light_Transit_System

Wikipedia MTR http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MTR

Wikipedia Ocean Park Hong Kong http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocean_Park%2C_Hong_Kong

Wikipedia Taxicabs of Hong Kong http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxis_of_Hong_Kong

Light Rail (輕軌)

The serious traffic problem Macao is now facing is similar to that of Hong Kong in the year 1960s. By that time, as there was an expansion of Hong Kong’s economy, it also caused continuous problems to the traffic. In order to solve the matter, the Hong Kong Government built the Mass Transit Railway (MTR) which could carry a large amount of passengers every time. Since the booming of gaming industry, Macao has been facing the same problem similar to the one that Hong Kong once had. Traffic problem became serious in Macao. Therefore, the government needs to think of a solution to it. The government of Macao learned and followed the resolution of Hong Kong; and tried to do the same thing to solve similar problems. They wanted to use the ‘rail rapid-transit system’ (MTR) as the solution. Unfortunately, Macao has a great difference with its extremely small land area, and with the reason that ‘it would cost three or four times more to build the underground rail than the elevated system’ (Macaubusiness); and it has also been said that there are a lot of electricity wires below the areas of Lisboa, therefore it is not possible to dig an underground and build the MTR. The government of Macao wanted to build a mass transit but could not follow exactly what Hong Kong did and build an underground railway. Therefore, ‘the Macao SAR government asked for some experts of the Hong Kong MTR Corporation Limited about opinions and finally came up with a suggestion’ (Macau Light Transit System). That is, to build the elevated light rail transit system. In which the railways are built above the roads. ‘The supporting columns footprint will occupy a minimum amount of road network surface’ (Macao LRT System In-depth Study), so that it will not affect greatly on people’s daily lives. Additionally, it can also help to ‘relieve the growing traffic congestion’ (Macaubusiness) that Macao is now having.

‘This proposal was introduced to the public by the Government in October 2006' (Macau Light Transit System). The proposed project has been undergoing the introduction to the public; and had only been finally decided to be built on 04 May 2007 due to the complaint and demonstration of the serious traffic problems in Macao on 01 May 2007. On 04 May 2007, the MSAR government had announced that the Macao Light Transit System will begin in 2008, month still unknown (Macao Daily News). The estimated time for the construction of the first-phase of the light rail is about 4 years (Macau Light Transit System). Hopefully, the first-phase of the transport can be ready by 2012. But 'the whole planned network may require 8 years to be completely built. The proposed system is similar to the Singapore Light Rapid Transit, which is a driverless system. The network would be comprised of three lines: Loop Line, which is a circular route on the Macau Peninsula connecting with the Macao-Taipa Line. Macau-Taipa Line, a route with connections with the Airport Shuttle Line on Taipa and the Loop Line on the Macau Peninsula via Ponte de Sai Van. The lower deck of the Sai Van Bridge is reserved for the light rail. Airport Shuttle Line, a spur line of the Macau-Taipa Line to Macau International Airport’ (Macau Light Transit System).

‘The Macao SAR Government by the meantime is till carrying out an intensified research on the introduction of a rapid transit railway system into Macao' (Macao Light Rapid Transit System In-depth Study); and already made a thorough plan of it. They hoped that by doing this, they can create favourable conditions and achieve some long-term goals like: to relieve the pressure on the public transportation system is the main aim. Next, they also wanted to enhance the capacity to serve large number of tourists, so that more people will come to visit Macao and they could make more money. Third, they can promote the integration of the MSAR in the Pearl River Delta. Fourth, this kind of system can reduce pollution, which the government has also been concerned about. Fifth, the light rapid transit system can provide a reliable, safe, high-capacity and comfortable public transportation service to their people, hence, improving the quality of people’s lives at the same time. Finally, it also pushes forward the sustainable development of Macao (Macao Light Rapid Transit System In-depth Study).

The Macao government had summed up some characteristics of the proposed elevated light rail transit system. They are: A 2-car-train can carry around 200 passengers each time. A 4 car-train can carry up to 8,000 passengers per hour per direction with a 3 minute headway. An average headway takes about 3 to 6 minutes. Supporting columns footprint they are going to use will occupy a minimum amount of road network surface and will not affect greatly on the road traffic. The light rail will use recyclable traction energy and it will be equipped with a reliable evacuation system. The viaducts will be designed in order to minimize the visual impact. In addition, the light rail is a kind of reliable, safe, comfortable and environmentally friendly system. Moreover, rubber tyres will be used as to reduce noise it will make; and this can reduce noise pollution to the city (Macao Light Rapid Transit System In-depth Study).

Additionally, the MSAR government had also thought of the train and station design. Platform screen doors will be installed for safety. They will also introduce the environmentally friendly design in the stations in order to make good use of natural light and ventilation. Escalators and lifts will be available inside the stations; and in the major stations, feeder and interchange facilities for other public transports will also be provided (Macao Light Rapid Transit System In-depth Study). All these sounds very good and caring for the passengers.

By the meantime, the MSAR government had proposed:

the Border Gate, Areia Preta, Outer Harbour Ferry Terminal, NAPE, Nam Van District and Barra
(關閘, 黑沙環, 外港碼頭, 新口岸新填海區, 南灣區, 媽閣)

as the stops of the Macao peninsula; and

Sai Van Bridge, Macao Stadium, Bifurcation in Baia da Nossa Senhora da Esperanca, separate routes connecting the Macau International Airport and Pac On Ferry Terminal or COTAI
(西灣大橋, 澳門運動場, 望德聖母灣, 可分別往澳門國際機場、北安碼頭或路乙水城) to be stops of the Taipa island.

To start with, the first-phase of the development will be constructed. Proposed route of the first-phase development would be chosen from either route A or B and also a decision from route C or D. The alignment options of route A includes:

the Border Gate, Avenida Norte do Hipodromo, Avenida do Nordeste, Avenida de Venceslau de Morais, Rua dos Pescadores and Avenida da Amizade of the North District.
(關閘, 馬場北大馬路, 東北大馬路, 慕拉士大馬路, 漁翁街, 友誼大馬路)

Route B includes:

the Border gate, Avenida Norte do Hipodromo, Avenida Leste do Hipodromo, Estrada Marginal da Areia Preta, Avenida Dr. Francisco Vieira Machado and Avenida da Amizade in the North District.
(關閘, 馬場北大馬路, 馬場東大馬路, 黑沙環海邊馬路, 馬揸度博士大馬路, 友誼大馬路)

Or the alignment options could be route C or D. The alignment options of route C will then be:

Av. da Amizade, Av. Dr. Sun Yat Sen and Av. 24 de Junho of NAPE,
(友誼大馬路, 孫逸仙大馬路, 城市日大馬路)

or

Av. da Amizade, Rua de Londres and Av. 24 de Junho in NAPE (Macao Light Rapid Transit System In-depth Study).
(友誼大馬路, 倫敦街, 城市日大馬路)

The government is consulting their people about which route they would prefer to choose, route A or B and route C or D.

Reference: Ip, Y. C. (2005). inmediahk. Columns. ‘The problematic Macau Light Transit System (Macau Light Transit System Report I)’.

Reference: Ip, Y. C. (2005). inmediahk. Columns. ‘The expanding Macao (Macau Light Transit System Report II)’.

Reference: Macao Daily News (2007) 'The Macao Light Rapid Transit System will begin next year and finish in four years'. 04/05/2007.

Reference: Wikipedia MTR

Reference: Wikipedia Macau Light Transit System

Reference: Macao Light Rapid Transit System In-depth Study (2006). Publisher: Macao Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China – Office for Infrastructure Development

Reference: Macaubusiness 'Taking the High Road' 8 November 2006.

Cable Car in Macao

In Macao, we can see that cable cars are only available in one place. That is, Jardim da Flora (二龍喉公園). They are being used by people to have a whole view of Macao by slowly going up and down the mountain. The cable cars start to operate since 1 October 1997. Each cable car holds four seats. It takes about one minute and twenty seconds for going up the mountain. As it is normal to think that, cable cars are like buses, a kind of service which is available to everybody everyday. But the funniest thing is that, cable cars in this garden are not working on every Monday. It seems that the life of people in Macao is really relaxed, and they can do whatever they like. Compare to Hong Kong, cable cars operate everyday. This shows why Hong Kong people are seen as hard-working and the city is in order.

Reference: Wikipedia Jardim da Flora

Taxis in Macao

At the end of 2004, Macao had 650 licensed black taxis and 100 yellow taxis. The number of licensed taxi drivers in Macao is 3,857 (Macao Yearbook).

Reference: Macao Yearbook (2005). Published by the Government Information Bureau of the Macao Special Administrative Region. (p.461-462).

Subway/Underground Railway (MTR)

Mass Transit Railway (MTR) is the main rapid transit railway system in Hong Kong and the first in south-east Asia. The MTR service began in 1979, with the first line opened. The network has expanded to encompass seven lines and 53 stations along 91.0 kilometres (56.5 miles). The MTR system was constructed and is operated by MTR Corporation Limited. Due to its efficiency and affordability, the MTR system is a common transportation mode of public transport in Hong Kong, with an average of 2.557 million journeys recorded each day as of January 2007. The integration of the Octopus smart card fare-payment technology into the MTR system in September 1997 has further enhanced the ease of commuting with the MTR. During the 1960s, the government of Hong Kong saw a need to accommodate increasing road traffic as Hong Kong's economy continued to grow strongly. The Hong Kong Government had previously commissioned a study to find solutions to the growing traffic problem caused by the expansion of the city's economy. In 1967, construction of the MTR was prompted by a government-commissioned study. The MTR was immediately popular with residents of Hong Kong; as a result, subsequent lines have been built to cover more territory.

Reference: Wikipedia MTR

Buses in Macao

In Macao, there are two public franchise bus companies which operate routes on the Macao peninsula and the two islands.They are namely:

1. Transportes Urbanos de Macau (Transmac)

Transportes Urbanos de Macau (Transmac) was previously known as Companhia de Autocarros Fok Lei. It was founded in 1948, it was restructured and changed its name to Transportes Urbanos de Macau in July 1988. Now, Transmac is the largest bus company in Macao. As of December 2004, Transmac owned 343 air-conditioned buses and operated 26 routes between Macao and the two islands. In recent years, Transmac has even expanded its business on the mainland. Additionally, it is also the only bus company which offers the e-ticket IC card system and bus-to-bus interchange service. Moreover, Transmac has also introduced environmentally friendly low-platform buses that suit Macao’s traffic conditions (Macao Yearbook).

2. Sociedade de Transportes Colectivos de Macau (TCM)

Sociedade de Transportes Colectivos de Macau (TCM) was previously known as Companhia de Transporte de Passageiros entre Macau e as Ilhas). Actually, this company originally provided maritime transportation services (ferry) between Macao and the two islands in the early times. Only in 1950s, it acquired several bus companies that served residents of Taipa and Coloane, and thereafter stop providing maritime transportation services and change to operate public buses. The company purchases a number of famous-brand air-conditioned buses and put them into operation as public buses serving Macao and its islands. TCM now operates more than 200 air-conditioned buses on 16 routes on the Macao peninsula and the two islands. Bus Fares range from 2.5 patacas within the Macao peninsula to 5 patacas to Coloane (Macao Yearbook).

There were also double-deck buses once in Macao. But because the streets of Macao were narrow and the signboards are not high enough, it was really difficult for double-deck buses to pass through. The government of Macao had once thought of raising the signboards and expanding the roads. However, because this was a big project and really needed a lot of money, therefore, the government required the bus companies to pay two third of this sum of reconstruction and the bus companies rejected to do so. As a result, the government abolished using double-deck buses. That is also the reason why till today, the buses of Macao still remain as single-deck buses (The development of Buses).
Reference: The development of Buses

Reference: Macao Yearbook (2005). Published by the Government Information Bureau of the Macao Special Administrative Region. (p.461-462).

Pedicab (三輪車)

In 1950s, pedicab or trishaw became one of the major kinds of public transport in Macao. The information of how did they come to Macao remained unknown even in the Macao Yearbook. The trishaw was a mix of the bicycle and the rickshaw (cycle rickshaw). It was a unique but rather slow way to move about for sightseeing. In the 50s, the government of Macao even published license for the pedicab and driving license to each pedicab driver. By 1990, only 200 pedicabs remained and in 1994, their numbers even decrease further. By this time, their customers became only tourists. They could be found at the pedicab stations outside Hotel Lisboa, the Ferry Terminal, and the Palace Entertainment Centre. In 1989, the government restricted pedicab to earn MOP$40 per hour. After the introduction of cars and buses, trishaw can no more compete with them concerning its speed. Trishaw had not served as a practical method of public transport in Macau for many years. However, it is a good idea to use the trishaw to roam around in Nanwan Lake or other interesting areas. There is no standard fee for trishaw service, so one may need to negotiate with the owner first (Macau). But afterwards, they were being required to get license for driving the pedicab. Trishaw was so popular in the old days before motorized transports were used.

Reference: Wikipedia Macau

Taxi

Taxi (的士), in Cantonese is actually the pinyin translation of the English word "Taxi". Taxi started providing its service to people as early as the 1947. By that time, there were just 329 of them. By 1960 the service covered the New Territories also and there had been an increase to 1,026 cars. By 1980, the number of taxis would multiply to 10,000. There are three types of taxis in Hong Kong, namely, urban taxis (red), which serve all areas in Hong Kong. New Territories taxis (green), which serve only parts of the New Territories; and Lantau taxis (blue) run exclusively on southern Lantau Island, Tung Chung. All three types of taxis serve the Hong Kong International Airport and Disneyland. The colours of taxis were split in the 1960s; the reason why there are three types of taxis is to avoid having no taxis serving the less densely built-up areas of the territory, as running in the urban centre was considered much more profitable. When drivers would make a higher profit in a more populated area like Hong Kong island versus rural Kowloon. The restriction enforced the taxis to provide service to a particular region regardless (Taxicabs of Hong Kong).

Reference: Wikipedia Taxicabs of Hong Kong

Bus

In the past, there was no tram in Kowloon; and only rich people can transport with rickshaw. Therefore, there was not any kind of public transport for the citizens. The Kowloon Car Company then provided bus services to people between Tsim Sha Tsui and Sham Shui Po in 1921. Interestingly, the situation of buses in Hong Kong is exactly the opposite of Macao. In the past, buses of Hong Kong were firstly single-deck buses. Only in 1949 Hong Kong hanged to use double-deck. (translated by Bibiana)

Reference: LeePoSin Former Land Public Transport of Hong Kong.ppt.
Today, there are five bus companies providing their services to the people of Hong Kong. But the most commonly recognized and heard are Kowloon Motor Bus (KMB) (九巴), KCR Feeder Bus (KCR)(九鐵巴士) and Citybus (城巴) (Buses in Hong Kong).

Reference: Wikipedia Buses in Hong Kong

Train (火車)

Actually, there is a legend about the invention of this name by the Chinese. Trains at first are steam-hauled, they used steam as their sources of power, and in order to do so, they need to burn coal sustainably. When people saw the burning coal inside the head of the train, they named it as ‘fire car’. During the 1950s, train began to use diesel oil as their energy. In 1962, ‘steam-hauled’ (Kowloon-Canton Railway) was not being used anymore. In 1973, the Kowloon-Canton Railway (九廣鐵路) began to build dual track and carry out the Railway Electrification. In 1982 May completed the first stage of the Electrification Project. (translated by Bibiana).

Reference: Wikipedia Kowloon-Canton Railway

Reference: LeePoSin Former Land Public Transport of Hong Kong.ppt.

Tram (電車)

The Tram system of Hong Kong started operating in 1904. Its route is from Wan Chai to Shau Kei Wan and the Happy Valley (horse racing ground).By 1912, double deck tram began to appear. But the upper deck is open to the air and by this time, there had been a lot of complaints from the customers. So the tram company used canvas as cover. Only until 1923, canvas was being replaced by wood to be tram’s upper deck’s cover. Only now they have the whole tram with both deck cover with metal.

Reference: LeePoSin Former Land Public Transport of Hong Kong.ppt.

Ngong Ping Skyrail

There is also a type of cable car which is called Ngong Ping Skyrail in Hong Kong. These cable cars travel between Tung Chung Town Centre and Ngong Ping (昂坪)on Lantau Island. It is special because people could ‘enjoy some of the best views in Hong Kong. Cable cars glides over the South China Sea and North Lantau Country Park on 20-25 minutes. Views of the Hong Kong International Airport, verdant, mountainous terrain of Lantau Island and the Tian Tan Buddha Statue' (Skyrail) will also be viewable by people throughout this cable car journey.

Each of them is a ‘17-person cable car cabin’, with 10 seated and 7 standing. 'Ngong Ping Skyrail is a bi-cable ropeway; the first of its kind to be installed in Hong Kong. This type of ropeway system was selected as it allows long spans between towers; and it was also chosen for its safety and reliability and will provide guests with a smooth and comfortable journey.

Another good point of Ngong Ping Skyrail is, it is suitable for people of all ages and abilities. Elderly and disabled passengers, including those with wheelchairs, could also get into the cabin and enjoy the nice view of Hong Kong.’

Reference: Ngong Ping 360. Skyrail-ITM (Hong Kong) Ltd (2006). http://www.np360.com.hk/html/eng/np360_exp/skyrail_index.html?play=off&continue1=yes&soundpos

Cable Car in The Ocean Park

They are also called as crane(吊車) by people. The only difference is that each of them has six seats available and takes eight minutes and thirty seconds for each ride (Ocean Park Hong Kong).

Reference: Wikipedia Ocean Park Hong Kong http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocean_Park,_Hong_Kong

Cable Car (纜車)

Cable Car came to Hong Kong because of the British people. In the past, the British people lived high up the Pacific Mountain. Whenever they need to go to downtown, they need to get down the hill by going through winding routes. This caused a great inconvenience to them. Hence, they created cable car in 1888. At first, it is moved by steam and had only 30 seats. Only until 1926, electricity replaced steam as its source of power and had about 50 seats. In 1948, the whole cabin was made out of metal, and in 1959 onwards, 72 seats are available and the whole cable car cabin was made out of aluminum.

Reference: LeePoSin Former Land Public Transport of Hong Kong.ppt.

Rickshaw (人力車)

Rickshaw came into Hong Kong in 1890. Actually, rickshaw was originated in Japan. Its Japanese name is 'jinrikisha’ (Macau).

It was a missionary who brought rickshaw into Hong Kong and later rich people also imported rickshaw from Japan for private use. Rickshaw eventually became very popular throughout Hong Kong. It was said that in its most flourishing period, there were about 3000 of them and about 8000 rickshaw drivers in the city.

After 1930 the popularity of rickshaw declined, as rich people turned to buy and use cars. After 1970, rickshaw were then weed out. Only dozens of them were remained at the Star Ferry and Tsim Sha Tsui for people to shoot photos. Similar to Macao, some of them are being preserved for tourism purposes. It acts as a distinguishable type of transport in Hong Kong.

Reference: Wikipedia Macau http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macau#Transportation

Reference: LeePoSin Former Land Public Transport of Hong Kong.ppt.

Sedan Chair (轎)

Sedan chair was the earliest kind of public transport used inHong Kong. In 1870, sedan chair became popular. Its service was provided on the peak of the Pacific Mountain and its terrace area. They were used by British officials and rich Chinese businessmen. When the British colonized Hong Kong between 1842 and 1860, there were very few roads in Hong Kong. There were narrow streets and alleys. The British officials liked to live in beautiful peaceful mountain peak and rich Chinese liked to live in the terrace area. They felt very inconvenient whenever they need to get up and down the mountain to downtown. Thus, these people then imported some sedan chair from Guangzhou.

As sedan chair was light and is easy to carry, it around the mountain areas, it became one of various major kinds of public transport. Later, rickshaw appeared and only about half the number of sedan chair remained. However, rickshaw could not get up the mountain and cable car had only a few stops, people found them not convenient and continued to use the sedan chair. Only after 1930, rich people living at the terrace area bought cars themselves, thus, only small number of sedan chair remained. In 1954, sedan chair died out. (translated by Bibiana)

Reference: LeePoSin Former Land Public Transport of Hong Kong.ppt.