250 Transport
Cross-boundary Traffic
Overall Cross-boundary Traffic
Cross-boundary vehicular traffic decreased by 4 per cent in 2009 compared with the previous year, averaging 40 400 vehicles a day whereas the total cross-boundary passenger traffic by rail, road and ferry increased by about 0.8 per cent, reaching 530 900 passengers a day.
Rail Services to Lo Wu and Lok Ma Chau
Lo Wu, one of the two rail boundary crossings into the Mainland, operates between 6.30 am and midnight every day. It handled an average of 238 900 passengers daily during the year, and more than 387 200 on feast days.
The other rail boundary crossing into the Mainland is the MTR East Rail Line extension to Lok Ma Chau which operates between 6.30 am and 10.30 pm daily. Passengers can reach this crossing either by rail or local public transport. In 2009, the crossing at the Lok Ma Chau Spur Line handled an average of about 35 700 passengers daily, and more than 58 400 on festive days, plus a daily average of about 30 200 passengers arriving at the crossing by public transport.
Road Crossings
There are four road crossings between Hong Kong and the Mainland: Lok Ma Chau, Man Kam To, Sha Tau Kok and Shenzhen Bay. The Lok Ma Chau crossing operates round-the-clock for goods and passenger vehicles. The Man Kam To and Shenzhen Bay Port crossings are opened daily to goods and passenger vehicles from 7 am to 10 pm and from 6.30 am to midnight respectively. The Sha Tau Kok crossing operates daily from 7 am, and the closing time was extended from 8 pm to 10 pm since July 1, 2009.
The daily average number of vehicle trips recorded at Lok Ma Chau, Man Kam To, Sha Tau Kok and Shenzhen Bay crossings during the year were 25 500, 5 200, 2 200 and 7 500 respectively.
The daily average numbers of cross-boundary travellers who used the Lok Ma Chau, Man Kam To, Sha Tau Kok and Shenzhen Bay crossings were 93 900, 6 000, 6 400 and 46 200 respectively. These travellers crossed the boundary mainly by coaches, while travellers crossing the boundary via the Lok Ma Chau crossing may also choose to take the shuttle buses that ply between Huanggang in Shenzhen and the public transport interchange at San Tin; and travellers crossing the boundary via the Shenzhen Bay crossing may choose to use local public transport services to the Shenzhen Bay Port.
In 2009, about 79 400 passengers took the cross-boundary coaches provided by some 120 companies, while 26 900 and 24 500 passengers took the shuttle buses at Lok Ma Chau and the local public transports to Shenzhen Bay Port each day respectively.
A trial scheme for taxis and green minibuses to operate at the Lok Ma Chau Control Point between midnight and 6.30 am was introduced in March 2003. The