Cross-border bus passengers surge after Shenzhen-Zhongshan Bridge opens

Wallis Wang

The opening of the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Link has led to a significant increase in cross-border bus passenger traffic, with as much as a 30 percent surge in the first weekend after the service commenced on June 30.

However, the new bridge-tunnel has not fully resolved the congestion issues along the route.

Freeman Cheung Kim-ping, vice-chairman of the Hong Kong Guangdong Boundary Crossing Bus Association and joint general manager of Shum Kong Wing Lee Cross Border Bus Company, said: "In the past, we usually carried around 400 passengers per day from Zhongshan to Hong Kong, this number reached as high as 1,600 on July 1 - an increase of 1,000 passengers." To cater to the growing demand, Cheung's company added over 20 additional cross-border buses to Zhongshan on Saturdays.

However, the congestion problem persisted, especially during weekends when many Shenzhen families travel to Zhongshan for the summer holidays.

Cheung cited an instance where a bus departing from Shenzhen Bay at 11am did not reach Zhongshan until 3pm on the same day.

To address the congestion, Cheung's company plans to increase the daily frequency of buses from 36 to 52 or 54, starting from tomorrow.

Another company, Eternal East Bus, has also recorded a 30 percent increase in the number of passengers on cross-border routes to Zhongshan and is planning to increase its daily bus frequency from 28 to 40.

Despite the ongoing traffic issues, local travel agency Sunflower Travel has launched various short-haul tours to Zhongshan, with a two-day, one-night package priced at HK$399.

One traveler, Yung, expressed confidence that the bus driver would choose the best route to minimize any further delays.

Another traveler, Kwok, said the journey to Zhongshan has been reduced from four hours to just one hour, making it more convenient for her to visit her mother living in the city.