By South China Morning Post | Created at 2024-11-20 09:06:59 | Updated at 2024-11-21 16:02:07
1 day ago
Public spending on the government-subsidised HK$2 (26 US cents) fare for elderly and disabled residents on Hong Kong’s transport system has risen for three years while almost 10,000 cases of passengers misusing concessionary fares were found in the past 17 months, the welfare chief has revealed.
Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun Yuk-han on Wednesday also said authorities had no intention of cancelling the concessionary scheme or changing its beneficiaries.
In a written reply to lawmaker Peter Douglas Koon Ho-ming, the minister said that in the revised budget for the 2023-24 financial year, about HK$40 billion (US$5 billion) had been allocated for the scheme, representing 0.7 per cent of the government’s total annual operating expenditure.
The figure was higher than the HK$30.7 billion, or 0.5 per cent of annual expenditure, in 2022-23, and HK$13.9 billion, or 0.2 per cent of total public spending the previous year.
Last year, HK$39.9 billion was reimbursed to public transport operators, with the MTR Corporation and franchised bus companies each receiving over HK$15 billion, the highest amounts among all operators.
Introduced in 2012, the scheme allows passengers aged 65 and above, along with eligible individuals with disabilities, to access designated public transport services such as the MTR, franchised buses, ferries and green minibuses at the concessionary fare.
