Passengers buy tickets for shuttle bus services on the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge at the ticketing center in Macao, Oct 24, 2018. The bridge opened to traffic on Wednesday. (LI BINGCUN / CHINA DAILY)

ZHUHAI – The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge enters the history of human engineering and connection as a point of pride upon its opening to traffic at 9am Wednesday. 

One day after President Xi Jinping announced its opening at a ceremony held in Zhuhai, Guangdong province, the bridge’s ports in three different administrative regions started serving travelers around-the-clock, opening 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

To ensure faster boundary crossings for passengers, the Macao and Zhuhai ports jointly use a one-off immigration clearance model, allowing travelers to queue up only once to finish both exit and entry procedures of the two cities in about 30 seconds.

Apart from private cars, taxis and cargo vehicles, two types of public transportation – shuttle bus and cross-boundary coach – can also run on the HZMB.

The first shuttle bus from Hong Kong to Zhuhai in Guangdong province is ready to take passengers on a historic ride on the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge at 9:15 am, Oct 24, 2018. The bridge officially opened to traffic on Wednesday. (MIRIAM ZHANG / CHINA DAILY)

Shuttle buses only provide service between the ports of Hong Kong and Zhuhai, and between Hong Kong and Macao, without crossing any boundaries. The frequency is about 5-10 minutes during peak hours.

Advance online ticket booking for the shuttle bus has been available since 9 am on Tuesday.

Two passengers purchase shuttle bus tickets for the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge at the Macao Port, Oct 24, 2018. (LI BINGCUN / CHINA DAILY)

With the bridge now in service, the traveling time between Zhuhai and Hong Kong International Airport will be shortened from four hours to 45 minutes, and the time between Zhuhai and Hong Kong’s Container Terminals will be cut from 3.5 hours to 75 minutes