Depot

There are quite a number of random experiences one may come across going around Macau on a public bus. One of them is the privilege of crossing Ponte Gov. Nobre de Carvalho which is now closed to private transportation. Built in 1974, the bridge made travelling between Macau peninsula and Taipa island by boat obsolete. As of 2026, traffic between the peninsula and the island is served by four bridges.

Commonly known as the Old Bridge, Ponte Gov. Nobre de Carvalho joins Casino Lisboa on the Macau end and Colina da Taipa Pequena on the other. Crossing the bridge allowed drivers and passengers to enjoy a panoramic view of Baía da Praia Grande before reclamation works in the 1990s turned it into Nam Van Lake. The view changed again a decade later as Macau launched its New Urban Zone project to create 7.3 square kilometres of new land, around one-fifth of Macau's current land area*. The southern waterfront was extended to become New Urban Reclamation Zone B. Public sentiments towards the project's urban planning are varied as new plans are being revealed in public consultation exercises**.

Sociedade de Transportes Colectivos de Macau, S.A. (TCM) is one of the two public bus companies in Macau, operating around 65% of Macau's bus routes and serving 300,000 passengers on a daily basis, a number making up almost half of Macau's local population. Out of its three bus depots, one is located in New Urban Reclamation Zone B, directly south of prime properties such as Mandarin Oriental Hotel, MGM and Wynn.

Taking a bus going from Taipa island to Macau peninsula at night is a rewarding trip guaranteeing spectacular views of Macau's most lavish skyline made up of palatial casinos, top-tier commercial high-rises and luxurious hotels contoured by Nam Van Lake. And if one happens to take the window seat on the right and cares to look up from one's mobile phone, one will have the good fortune to see among this opulence suddenly a nest of empty buses at rest, all with lights on though. Against a dimmed backdrop of endless reclaimed land, one can almost feel goosebumps, as if afraid to wake up a fleet of fabricated creatures on stand-by mode, ready to pounce on its own creator.

* “Changing landscape: Macao of the future”, China Global Television Network, 17 December 2019

** “Gov’t justifies flyover between new urban zones with public interest”, Macau Daily Times, 23 July 2024