In the first quarter of this year, the new registration of motor vehicles decreased by 27.6 per cent year-on-year to 4,001, with that of motorcycles (2,241) and light private cars (1,299) dropping 23.4 per cent and 42.1 per cent, respectively, according to the latest transport and communications statistics from Statistics and Census Service (DSEC). There were 249,215 licensed motor vehicles in Macau at the end of March, up by 3 per cent year-on-year, in which motorcycles and light private cars accounted for 52 per cent and 41.2 per cent, respectively. Cross-border vehicle traffic recorded a total of 432,917 trips in March 2016, up slightly by 0.4 per cent year-on-year. In the first quarter of this year, cross-border traffic decreased 0.3 per cent year-on-year to 1,258,172 trips, of which vehicle traffic via the Border Gate accounted for 77.5 per cent. Passenger ferry movement between Macau and Mainland China and between Macau and Hong Kong dropped by 4.7 per cent year-on-year to 11,602 trips in March. In the first quarter, it recorded a drop of 3.7 per cent to 34,578 trips. Commercial flight movements at Macau International Airport reached 4,516 in March 2016, up 5.8 per cent year-on-year. The first quarter posted an increase of 8 per cent year-on-year to 13,709 trips. In addition, flight movements to and from Mainland China, Thailand and Taiwan were up by 1.1 per cent, 24 per cent and 15.5 per cent, respectively. However, flight movements to and from Vietnam dropped 21.1 per cent. Helicopter flight movements between Macau and Mainland China and between Macau and Hong Kong plunged significantly by 41 per cent year-on-year to 630 trips in March. In the first quarter, a fall of 36.8 per cent to 2,371 trips was posted. Cargo by air and land Gross weight of seaborne containerised cargo decreased by 26.5 per cent year-on-year to 17,315 tones in March 2016. Air cargo recorded total of 2,838 tones through Macau International Airport in March 2016, up 30 per cent year-on-year due to outward air cargo growth of 49.4 per cent (1,669 tones). In the first quarter of this year, inward air cargo recorded a decrease of 13.4 per cent to 1,470 tones year-on-year. However, outward air cargo posted an increase of 21.5 per cent to 4,168 tones. Inward air cargo from Taiwan accounted for 59.2 per cent of the total, with a drop of 16.9 per cent, while outward air cargo to Taiwan accounted for 40.1 per cent of the total, increasing by 11.9 per cent. Furthermore, transit air cargo showed an increase of 12 per cent to 1,527 tones year-on-year in the first quarter. The gross weight of containerised cargo by land went up by 23.8 per cent year-on-year to 1,914 tones in March. More Internet users Total Internet subscribers increased to 344,917, up 10.8 per cent year-on-year. The cumulative duration of Internet usage recorded a total of 288 million hours, up by 13.7 per cent year-on-year in the first quarter of this year. There were 143,488 fixed-line telephone subscribers in the city at the end of March, down 5.6 per cent year-on-year. There were 1,883,544 telephone subscribers, up 1.9 per cent, of whom stored-value GSM card subscribers accounted for 1,209,173, or 64.2 per cent in total.
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