Lok Ma Chau cross boundary traveller advised to plan their journeys

The Transport Department (TD) today (September 29) reminds passengers who intend to use the Lok Ma Chau - Huanggang cross boundary shuttle bus service during the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays to plan their journeys to avoid the peak periods which are usually in the early morning and in the evening.

A TD spokesman said long queue is expected at the Lok Ma Chau Public Transport Interchange during the long holidays. He advised passengers to make their journeys during the less busy periods in late morning or early afternoon.

"Passengers should observe order and remain patient when queuing up at the Lok Ma Chau terminus.

"The waiting time for the shuttle bus service could be much longer than usual and up to two to three hours if traffic at the Lok Ma Chau crossing is busy," he said.

The spokesman said that the cross boundary shuttle bus service operates between 7.00 a.m. and 9.30 p.m. and its last departure from the Lok Ma Chau terminus is scheduled at 9.30 p.m.

"Past experience showed that the last few north-bound departures of the shuttle bus in late evening are always fully loaded and waiting passengers may have to be turned away. Intending passengers are strongly advised to call the enquiry hotline 2471 0792 before departing for the Lok Ma Chau terminus," he said.

The spokesman encouraged passengers to travel by rail via Lo Wu Control Point as the railway is a mass transit carrier and Lo Wu Control Point has a higher handling capacity.

In order to provide an quick alternative to allow waiting passengers at the Lok Ma Chau terminus to go to Sheung Shui for taking the railway to Lo Wu, a special KMB bus service route no. 73S (Lok Ma Chau Public Transport Interchange to Sheung Shui KCR Station) will be provided from 9.00 a.m. to 8.00 p.m. today (September 29) and tomorrow (September 30).

"The bus service will be running at 20 minutes interval. This is a new measure to enable passengers who do not wish to wait at the Lok Ma Chau terminus for the cross boundary shuttle bus service to take this bus service to Sheung Shui KCR Station for journeys to the Mainland," he said.

The spokesman also appealed to tourist companies who may feed patrons to the Lok Ma Chau terminus for transfer to the shuttle bus to evenly spread out their trips throughout the day.

"In the past, some tourist companies operated a large number of tourist coaches to the terminus before 9 a.m. at the start of the long holidays which caused obstruction in the vicinity of the terminus. They brought in a large number of patrons and as a result lengthened the waiting time for the shuttle bus service.

"We have asked the tourist trade to avoid similar incidents. Tourist companies are encouraged to divert their patrons to Sheung Shui KCR Station to use the rail service for journeys to Lo Wu," he added.

End/Saturday, September 29, 2001