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Following is a question by the Hon Raymond Ho and a written reply by the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr Frederick Ma, in the Legislative Council today (June 28):
Question:
It has been reported that the MTR Corporation Limited intends to implement a mutual use programme for Hong Kong's Octopus card and Shenzhen's TransCard, so that the two types of cards can be used in both Hong Kong and Shenzhen. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it knows:
(a) the general arrangements for the programme at the present stage and implementation time; if so, of the details;
(b) the estimated increase in the daily usage of Octopus cards upon the implementation of the programme; if so, of the estimated rate of increase; and
(c) the number of people in Hong Kong and Shenzhen who will benefit from the programme?
Reply:
Madam President,
The Octopus Cards Ltd (OCL) has provided the following information -
"(a) The general arrangements for the programme at the present stage and implementation time; if so, of the details?
"Hong Kong Octopus and Shenzhen Transcard would discuss on the feasibilities of cooperation on the basis of the relevant legislations and policies of the two local governments.
"Hong Kong Octopus and Shenzhen Transcard have had discussions on this. However, the discussions so far are in the preliminary stage. It is difficult to predict the implementation schedule of the Hong Kong Octopus and Shenzhen Tran(s)card systems.
"(b) The estimated increase in the daily usage of Octopus cards upon the implementation of the programme; if so, of the estimated rate of increase?
"The interoperability plan for the Hong Kong Octopus and Shenzhen Transcard aims to bring greater convenience to the citizens of Hong Kong and Shenzhen by using one common IC card for transportation, and to accelerate the unification in the Pearl River Delta. We (OCL) are unable to provide an estimation of the increase in Octopus usage once the project is implemented.
"(c) The number of people in Hong Kong and Shenzhen who will benefit from the programme?
"Our company (OCL) estimates that after the implementation of the project, most of the citizens who are travelling between Hong Kong and Shenzhen would be benefited. However, we (OCL) are unable to estimate the number of people who might benefit from this project."
According to the MTR Corporation, the Corporation together with the OCL are interested in exploring the feasibility of using the Octopus Card in Shenzhen. However, the discussion with the Shenzhen counterparts is still in an initial stage and it is expected to take some time in order to have any conclusion(s) on the feasibility. The Corporation is not able to provide any details.
As the matter is being dealt with by OCL and the Shenzhen Transcard as a business proposal, the Government does not have any additional information to provide.
Ends/Wednesday, June 28, 2006
Issued at HKT 11:31
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