The authorities of the Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin, in collaboration with the Macau government, have launched a cross-border shuttle bus service for Macau schoolchildren who are enrolled in schools in Macau but live in Hengqin, enabling them to commute between their homes and schools without having to get off the bus when passing border controls at the Macau-Hengqin joint border checkpoint.
The new service started yesterday on a trial basis.
The zone’s authorities announced details of the new service during a press conference held in Hengqin and in a statement yesterday.
When crossing the Macau-Hengqin joint checkpoint, vehicle passengers in general are required to pass border controls via its immigration clearance hall for vehicle passengers, except four special groups who are allowed to pass border controls via the checkpoint’s vehicle inspection channels together with the drivers, namely those aged 70 or over, those aged 10 or below, pregnant women, and those with disabilities.
Starting yesterday, eligible schoolchildren can use the cross-border shuttle bus service after registering, where they can pass border controls while staying on the bus.
Yesterday’s statement said that the new measure can get off the ground thanks to the collaboration of Hengqin’s immigration agency and customs as well as the Macau Customs Service, the Public Security Police (PSP), the Public Security Forces Affairs Bureau (DSFSM), the Education and Youth Development Bureau (DSEDJ), the Health Bureau (SSM), and the Transport Bureau (DSAT).
According to the statement, the service only covers permanent Macau residents who are Chinese nationals holding a “Home Return Permit”. Schoolchildren living in Hengqin who are enrolled in classes from P4 to F6 in Macau are eligible to register to use the cross-border shuttle bus service.
The bus service, which is now operating for the first semester of the current 2025/2026 school year on a trial basis, comprises six routes for schoolchildren to go to school and two routes for them to leave school in the afternoon. The service has 17 bus stops across Macau, in the peninsula, Taipa and Coloane, in the vicinity of 27 schools, while it runs six bus stops in Hengqin.
Officials told yesterday’s press conference that the service is now operating on a trial basis, during which eligible schoolchildren can use it free of charge and its operational costs are currently borne by the zone’s Livelihood Affairs Bureau.
A mainland immigration officer gets onto a cross-border shuttle bus for schoolchildren en route to Macau helping them complete departure formalities on board at the Macau-Hengqin joint checkpoint’s vehicle inspection channels yesterday morning.– Photo: GCS
