The findings of a survey released yesterday show that only 1.5 percent of the respondents said that they use the Light Rapid Transit (LRT) as their main transport option when out and about.
The findings also show that 70.5 percent of the respondents said that the government should continue expanding the city’s LRT network after the completion of the ongoing LRT East Line project.
Currently, the East Line project is the only LRT project underway. The line will connect the Barrier Gate checkpoint at the peninsula’s northern tip and the Taipa Ferry Terminal via the Zone A and Zone E1 land reclamation areas. It will cross the sea between Zone A and Zone E1 through an undersea tunnel.
The government is currently preparing a project to extend the LRT East Line to the Qingmao pedestrian border checkpoint in Ilha Verde from the Barrier Gate.
The ongoing LRT East Line project, without the projected extension to the Qingmao checkpoint, is scheduled to be completed in 2028, which the government is aiming to open in 2029.
The survey was carried out in June and July this year by the Macao New Chinese Youth Association, which held a press conference on its premises, located on the 13th floor of the Macao Daily News Building on Avenida de Venceslau de Morais, yesterday to announce the survey’s findings.
The survey collected 647 valid questionnaires from randomly chosen local residents aged between 18 and 44.
The association also released the survey’s findings in a statement on its website yesterday.
The survey’s findings show that 36.6 percent of the respondents said that taking a public bus was their main transport option when getting around the city, while 31.9 percent and 26.3 percent said that they get around mainly by driving and walking respectively.
The findings show that only 1.5 percent of the respondents said that taking the LRT was their main transport option when getting around.
Moreover, the findings also show that 58.7 percent of the respondents said that they had used the LRT over the past 12 months. However, 68.4 percent of those who had taken the LRT over the period said that they used the LRT only once every three months or even less.
According to the findings, 33.9 percent of those who had taken the LRT over the past 12 months said that “merely experiencing the ride” was their main reason and objective of getting on the LRT, while 22.1 percent and 21.3 percent cited “travelling to border checkpoints” and “travelling to casino-hotel resorts” as their main reason for opting for the LRT.
The findings also show that 46.1 percent of those who had never used the LRT over the past 12 months said that “stations far away from their homes” was the reason that they did not take the LRT, while 35.6 percent and 33.3 percent cited “the LRT’s limited network coverage” and “unable to reach their destinations directly” as their reason.
According to the findings, 61.7 percent of the respondents said that the absence of any mobile payment apps accepted at the ticket gates discouraged them from using the LRT. In addition, 64.0 percent of the respondents said that they wanted the LRT operator to develop and launch a mobile app providing real-time train arrival information.
Currently, LRT passengers can merely swipe their stored-value LRT card or Macau Pass card at the ticket gates.
75.6 pct of respondents want LRT West Line
Furthermore, the findings also show that 70.5 percent of the respondents said that the city’s LRT network should continue expanding after the completion of the ongoing LRT East Line project.
According to the findings, 75.6 percent of the respondents said that they agreed with the government’s plan to build the LRT West Line.
The government indicated earlier this year that it was studying the feasibility of building the LRT West Line connecting the Qingmao checkpoint with Fai Chi Kei, from where it would run along the Inner Harbour to Barra at the peninsula’s south-western tip.
According to yesterday’s statement, the association urges the government to launch its LRT West Line project, while also calling the government-owned LRT operator to accept mobile payment apps at the ticket gates and launch a mobile app for passengers to check real-time train arrival information.
This photo taken early this month shows an LRT train leaving Taipa Ferry Terminal Station. – Photo: Tony Wong
