Getting around in Macau

❌ ☠️ Taxi ☠️ ❌

Taxis in Macau are relatively inexpensive compared to other international cities. But a common mistake is to think that you can easily baller your way around Macau by taking taxis. It is notoriously difficult to get a taxi ANYWHERE during the weekends, general holidays and bad weather. What about Uber, I hear you say. Uber operated to much fanfare in Macau for a while, but they did not last long thanks to the powerful local taxi association. All ride sharing apps had been banned in Macau. Do not rely on the local taxi app - chances are there are just no cabs to be had when you need one.

Good luck in finding a taxi - you will need it!

Bus

If you do manage to get a taxi, yay to you! If not, the local bus service is pretty good in getting you to just about anywhere in Macau. Personally, I think there are actually more bus routes than are necessary, with many overlapping stops, which makes the already busy roads even more congested! For non-locals, it costs MOP 6 (US$0.75) per person per trip (exact change only).

It may seem daunting to use the local bus system if you cannot read or speak Chinese. It is very unlikely that you can successfully ask your way around in English so if you can, find the Chinese name and/or address of the place you want to go to in advance so you can show that to people.

For non-Chinese speakers who want to navigate around Macau, Google Map works well, but I find that for point-to-point public transport results, the bus routes and timing are more reliable with the Moovit app. Moovit seems to have better integration with the local bus system and can show real-time departure times for most bus routes.

Moovit

For the most accurate and reliable live bus schedules, most locals use the Bus Travelling System app which is developed by the Macau Transport Bureau. It gives you information on all the bus routes and stops, as well as the real-time traffic condition and bus arrivals. You can also see the number of stops to your destination and when to get off the bus. The only major fault I find with it is that, at least for the English interface, the route search function is not very user friendly so it is probably most useful if you already know which bus you need to take.

Bus Traveling System

The Bus Travelling System app is available for free on both iOS and Android.

Light Rail

Officially known as the Macao Light Rapid Transit (MLRT), it is a light rail train system currently with only one operating line in Taipa, the aptly named Taipa Line. It consists of 11 stations covering the Taipa city centre and 3 major air, sea and land ports in Taipa. Single journey fares range from MOP 6 to MOP 10 depending on the number of stations you travel.

It is not as popular as the buses because the train schedules are not as frequent and it costs more for longer journeys. Moreover, the free shuttle buses operated by the major casinos in Taipa often have routes that have stops in areas served by the MLRT.

Shuttle bus

OK, shuttle buses operated by casinos are technically not public transport, but it will be amiss not to mention them here as they are an excellent (and free) way for visitors to travel around Macau. Check the routes to see if they have stops that are near your destination. Remember that Macau is a small city so except for the very hot and humid summer months, even if the bus does not stop right next to your destination, it may not be too unpleasant to walk the short distance and explore the area. Who knows, you may find some gems along the way worthy of a detour!