Watchdog advises scrapping of illegal bus system

Macau’s bus system is illegal, a waste of money and contrary to the public interest, a Commission against Corruption report says. The commission calls for the government’s contracts with the bus operators to be scrapped. The report says the system is illegal because the Transport Bureau chose to sign service provider contracts with the three bus operators, while the law allows private companies to operate bus services only under public service concessions. The government set up the bus system in 2011. The Transport Bureau says in a written statement that the commission’s interpretations of the law differ from its own. Chief Executive Fernando Chui Sai On said yesterday he had already asked Secretary for Transport and Public Works Lau Si Io to follow up the matter.