Transport and communications statistics for the 1st quarter of 2024

MACAU, April 30 - Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that licensed motor vehicles in Macao totalled 250,702 as at the end of the first quarter of 2024, up by 0.4% year-on-year; light automobiles (116,337) and heavy motorcycles (108,657) rose by 1.9% and 0.1% respectively. In the first quarter, new registration of motor vehicles grew by 3.0% year-on-year to 3,085 (including 960 electric vehicles); of which, light automobiles increased by 44.8% to 1,583 (400 of them were electric), whereas heavy motorcycles dropped by 32.8% to 1,143 (244 of them were electric). New registration of motor vehicles in March fell by 22.2% year-on-year to 1,008 (including 264 electric vehicles). In the first quarter, traffic accidents went up by 20.6% year-on-year to 3,755, which resulted in 2 deaths and 1,324 injuries. Number of traffic accidents in March climbed by 23.3% year-on-year to 1,301, with 1 person killed and 471 persons injured.

In the first quarter, cross-border vehicular traffic totalled 2,079,741 trips, an uplift of 39.0% year-on-year. Light passenger car trips rose by 39.7% year-on-year to 1,951,065; of which, trips made under the “Northbound Travel for Macao Vehicles” policy (344,000 trips) and Macao vehicle trips to and from Hong Kong (64,000 trips) surged by 267.6% and 89.7% respectively, while trips made by Macao single-plate vehicles travelling to and from Hengqin (335,000 trips) fell by 3.4%. In the first quarter, gross weight of containerized cargo by land expanded by 125.8% year-on-year to 16,657 tonnes; cargo passing through the Checkpoint of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (16,290 tonnes) took up 97.8% of the total. In March, cross-border vehicular traffic grew by 24.4% year-on-year to 712,638 trips, while gross weight of containerized cargo by land soared by 90.1% to 6,642 tonnes.

In the first quarter, gross weight of port containerized cargo went up by 3.7% year-on-year to 46,048 tonnes; cargo being handled at the Inner Harbour (23,091 tonnes) swelled by 31.6% whereas that being shipped through the Ká-Hó Harbour (22,956 tonnes) dropped by 14.5%. In March, gross weight of port containerized cargo was 15,094 tonnes, down by 19.9% year-on-year.

In the first quarter, arriving and departing commercial flights totalled 13,306 trips, a hike of 115.2% year-on-year. Gross weight of air cargo swelled by 135.6% to 22,252 tonnes, of which gross weight of inward cargo (1,120 tonnes) and outward cargo (20,442 tonnes) grew by 4.4% and 149.7% respectively. In March, number of arriving and departing commercial flights surged by 76.1% year-on-year to 4,437 trips, and gross weight of air cargo jumped by 112.2% to 8,659 tonnes.

As at the end of the first quarter, there were 86,134 fixed-line telephone subscribers, down by 5.4% year-on-year. Number of mobile phone subscribers increased by 12.3% year-on-year to 1,395,171; postpaid subscribers (1,017,446) and prepaid SIM card subscribers (377,725) rose by 8.7% and 23.1% respectively. Internet subscribers totalled 739,776 as at the end of the first quarter, an increase of 4.6% year-on-year. The total duration of internet usage in the first quarter dipped by 1.2% year-on-year to 428 million hours, whereas the duration of internet usage in March went down by 2.8% to 144 million hours.