The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge has got off to a good start, serving about 1.79 million passengers in the first month of smooth and orderly operation, the Ministry of Transport said on Thursday. As of midnight on Tuesday, the bridge’s daily passenger volume reached 64,000, with the highest hitting 103,000 on November 18. Yiu Si-wing, who represents the tourism sector in the legislature of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region said the figures exceed their expectations. He added that the bridge’s first month of operation had a positive impact on the city’s tourism industry. Yet, he admitted that the immediate benefits are not as significant as he had thought they would be. He mentioned that perhaps 20 percent of the passengers who used the boundary-crossing bridge were there just to “worship the bridge.” They had no intention of entering Hong Kong. Moreover, Yiu said, for those who did enter Hong Kong via the bridge, the majority were on one-day tours, bypassing hotels and tourist spots or resorts. Passenger vehicles represented up to 97.6 percent of the total traffic on the bridge, according to the ministry. Shuttle buses accounted for 45 percent of the total vehicle traffic, with private cars making up another 30.5 percent. Cargo accounted for 2.4 percent.PEOPLE’S DAILY
