Secretary for Transport and Public Works Raimundo do Rosário said that fare discounts will not be implemented for rides between the Light Rail Transit (LRT) and public buses, i.e., there will be no interchange discounts.
Rosário made the remarks while speaking to reporters at the MGM casino-hotel resort in Nape after attending a ceremony that marked yesterday’s World Telecommunication and Information Society Day.
The LRT system is owned by the local government through its Macau Light Rapid Transit Corporation Limited (MLM) but its operation has been outsourced to Hong Kong’s MTR Railway Operations (Macau) Company Limited.
Rosário said yesterday that MLM is working on a project that will enable LRT passengers to take a ride by directly swiping their Macau Pass cards at ticket gates – like MTR rides in Hong Kong where passengers swipe their Octopus card at ticket gates.
Currently, LRT passengers have to use a stored-value LRT card, or buy a ticket at station service counters every time, to pass the ticket gates. They can buy the LRT card or ticket with cash or a Macau Pass card.
However, Rosário said that it is “difficult” for MLM, a government-owned company, and the city’s two public bus operators, which are privately run, to negotiate and reach a deal on fare discounts for rides between the two means of public transport.
Secretary for Transport and Public Works Raimundo do Rosário speaks to reporters at the MGM casino-hotel resort in Nape. – Photo courtesy of TDM
