Enhanced Transport Services Announced for Mainland’s Labour Day Golden Week Travel in Hong Kong – Charm

Interdepartmental working group on festival arrangements releases latest information and appeals to public and visitors to plan cross-boundary trips early during Mainland’s Labour Day Golden Week

The interdepartmental working group on festival arrangements, led by the Chief Secretary for Administration, released the following latest information today (April 28) on the traffic and public transport arrangements during the Mainland’s Labour Day Golden Week (May 1 to 5):

During the Mainland’s Labour Day Golden Week, in anticipation of a large number of members of the public, visitors and cross-boundary vehicles visiting land-based boundary control points (BCPs), the Transport Department (TD) appealed to cross-boundary travellers to use public transport services travelling between Hong Kong and the Mainland or Macao, plan their trips early and allow sufficient travelling time.

Enhancing services for travel convenience

The TD has been steering local and cross-boundary public transport operators (PTOs) to strengthen their services during the Mainland’s Labour Day Golden Week for the convenience of residents and visitors, including:

The MTR Corporation Limited will enhance the train services of the East Rail Line between Admiralty and Lo Wu/Lok Ma Chau Stations at different times from April 30 to May 5 based on passenger demand;

The train service of the Hong Kong Section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link between Hong Kong West Kowloon and Futian Stations will be enhanced from April 30 to May 3, with 13 additional pairs of trains (i.e. 26 train trips) operating daily. On May 4 and 5, there will be one additional pair of trains operating daily between Hong Kong West Kowloon and Futian Stations, and between Hong Kong West Kowloon and Shenzhenbei Stations respectively. One additional pair of temporary sleeper train trips operating between Hong Kong West Kowloon and Beijingxi Stations will also be added on April 30 and from May 5 to 7 daily;

Increasing the frequency of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB) shuttle bus (Gold Bus) to an average of about one minute during peak hours, if needed;

Increasing the frequency of the Lok Ma Chau-Huanggang cross-boundary shuttle bus (Yellow Bus) to an average of about two minutes during peak hours, if needed;

Increasing the quota of cross-boundary coaches to strengthen services; and

The frequency of local franchised bus B routes connecting various land-based BCPs will also be increased to a level higher than that of normal weekends, and the operators concerned will reserve sufficient vehicles and manpower to meet passenger demand.

Travel during non-peak hours

It is anticipated that the waiting time for public transport services, including the Gold Bus and the franchised bus B routes, may be longer. Passengers are advised to travel during non-peak hours, maintain order while queuing and heed advice from on-site Police and staff of PTOs concerned. Passengers planning to take cross-boundary coaches are also advised to reserve their coach tickets in advance.

HZMB users travelling to Zhuhai should note that the temporary link bridge connecting HZMB Zhuhai Port and Qinglu South Road has been closed to all traffic. They should use public transport services as far as possible, plan their trips early and allow sufficient travelling time. The traffic of Zhuhai Port and neighbouring roads may also be affected, and passengers should remain patient while waiting.

As for motorists of cross-boundary private cars crossing the border, they are advised that special traffic arrangements may be implemented at the Lok Ma Chau BCP and the Shenzhen Bay Port, subject to actual traffic conditions, during the Mainland’s Labour Day Golden Week to secure smooth access for public transport vehicles to the above BCPs. Cross-boundary private cars may experience longer waiting times for crossing the BCPs during peak periods. Motorists should pay extra attention to variable message signs and traffic signs along the roads. In case of traffic congestion, they should remain patient and follow the instructions of on-site Police.

Information dissemination

For the HZMB, to plan their journeys ahead, members of the public can make use of the TD’s HKeMobility mobile app or website (hkemobility.gov.hk/en/traffic-information/live/cctv) to access snapshots of traffic conditions at inbound and outbound vehicle plazas of the HZMB Hong Kong Port. They can also check real-time situations of the vehicle clearance plaza of the Zhuhai Port through the WeChat official accounts “hzmbzhport” or “zhuhaifabu” (traffic-info.gzazhka.com:5015/#/) (Chinese only). Moreover, motorists are reminded to always comply with the traffic control measures implemented by the Zhuhai authority when driving on the HZMB Main Bridge. Vehicles must not occupy the emergency lane unless instructed by the Zhuhai authority.

The public and visitors may visit the one-stop information platform on immigration clearance “Easy Boundary” (www.sb.gov.hk/eng/bwt/status.html?type=outbound) of the Security Bureau or the HKeMobility for the latest information on various land-based BCPs more conveniently. The TD will provide information on the services and waiting times of the Gold Bus, the Yellow Bus and the MTR. Members of the public are advised to check the latest traffic news through radio and television broadcasts, the TD’s website (www.td.gov.hk) and the HKeMobility.

The TD’s Emergency Transport Co-ordination Centre operates round the clock to closely monitor the traffic conditions and public transport services of various districts, the BCPs and major stations, and to implement contingency measures when necessary to meet service demands.

The interdepartmental working group on festival arrangements is tasked with holistically co-ordinating and steering the preparatory work of various government departments for welcoming visitors to Hong Kong during the Mainland’s Labour Day Golden Week, as well as strengthening information dissemination to enable the public and visitors to plan their itineraries according to the latest situation.

Government concludes eighth-day arrangements for Wang Fuk Court residents returning to their units

Today (April 27) is the eighth day of phased arrangements for residents of seven blocks of Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po to return to their units. Five high-zone floors of Wang Cheong House and 10 middle-zone floors of Wang Tao House were opened. The access arrangements were carried out in an orderly manner and operated smoothly.

A total of 116 households (403 people) registered to return to their units today through the “one social worker per household” service, while 119 households (443 people) actually turned up.

The average time residents spent entering and leaving the building today was two hours and 32 minutes, with the shortest time being 17 minutes and the longest three hours and 45 minutes. About 65 per cent of the residents stayed in the building for less than three hours. About 23 per cent of the residents stayed in the building for less than two hours. About 5 per cent of the residents stayed in the building for less than one hour.

A total of 60 households (124 people) went up and down the building more than once. Among them, 30 households (74 people) made one additional trip, 17 households (31 people) made two additional trips, 9 households (13 people) made three additional trips, 1 household (3 people) made four additional trips, and 3 households (3 people) made five additional trips.

The integrated enquiry counter set up by relevant departments today received 10 cases requesting police assistance.

The 10 cases requesting police assistance involved suspected loss of property, including watches, jewellery, cash and gold items. Officers were immediately deployed to assist in searches, and lost property was recovered in three cases. In two cases, the units concerned were severely damaged and residents believed after investigation that the property might have been destroyed by fire. In another three cases, there were no signs of ransacking in the units, and the residents could not provide details on the property concerned. For the remaining two cases, the Police will make further investigation.

The Government spares no effort in supporting the residents returning to their units. Each day, the Government deploys over 1 000 personnel from various departments, including the Police, the Civil Aid Service, the Fire Services Department, the Auxiliary Medical Service, the Home Affairs Department, the Social Welfare Department (SWD), the Housing Department, and the Housing Bureau, as well as District Services and Community Care Teams members. The “Government-wide Mobilisation” mechanism has also been activated to bring together greater interdepartmental resources to support residents.

Under the “Government-wide Mobilisation” mechanism, the Civil Service Bureau has co-ordinated nine government departments to mobilise civil servants to form the Government Quick Response Unit to support these access arrangements. These civil servants come from the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD), the Architectural Services Department, the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD), the Environmental Protection Department, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, the Lands Department (LandsD), the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD), the Post Office, and the Water Supplies Department (WSD). They will form dedicated teams with social workers and clinical psychologists from the SWD, stationed on different floors to provide support to residents returning to their units. The civil servants mobilised in the first three days were from the AFCD, those mobilised from the fourth day to the sixth day are from the EMSD and the LCSD, while those mobilised from the seventh day to the ninth day (including today) are from the LandsD and the WSD.