Last week, an eye-catching photo of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge in this newspaper said it all. The crossing majestically spans the Pearl River Delta but, as the photo showed, there was no traffic except for one lone vehicle at the entrance to a tunnel. While it was just a snapshot taken at around 2pm on a weekday, this could be the norm despite the mega bridge coming into operation one year ago. It explains why transport authorities have sought to boost usage by allowing local private vehicles to travel across the region more freely as part of a plan to stimulate the development of the Greater Bay Area – a national drive to turn 11 cities in southern China into an economic powerhouse. Private cars from Hong Kong have previously only been allowed to travel to and from Guangdong and Macau, but not from Macau to Zhuhai.

Underused mega bridge now open to cars crossing Greater Bay Area

The change is timely as the world’s longest bridge-and-tunnel sea crossing enters its second year of operation. According to the authority managing the bridge, the average daily traffic ranged from 2,416 to 4,791 vehicles. The figures are far short of the government’s projection of 9,200 to 14,000 vehicles. Under the new rules, an initial batch of 40 vehicles are to benefit, with the numbers to be expanded in future. Whether it will enhance usage remains to be seen. But months of anti-government protests in the city have already dampened the appetite for cross-border travel. Passengers going through the Hong Kong checkpoint of the bridge last month dropped by 28 per cent from August to 1.04 million. Bus companies also reportedly cut service frequency.