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Following is a question by the Hon Miriam Lau Kin-yee and a written reply by the Secretary for Transport and Housing, Ms Eva Cheng, at the Legislative Council meeting today (December 17):
Question:
On December 2 last year, the MTR Corporation Limited (MTRCL) launched a fare concession scheme whereby elderly (aged 65 or above) passengers using Octopus cards were required to pay just $2 per journey on Mass Transit Railway trains on Sundays and public holidays. The fare concessions expired on the first of this month. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:
(a) it knows the respective numbers of passenger trips taken by the elderly on various railway lines on Sundays and public holidays during the period from December 2 last year to the 30th of last month; how the figures compare with the corresponding figures for the 12 months before the above fare concessions were launched; and the average amount of saving in fare realized by each elderly passenger per journey; and
(b) it will request MTRCL to re-launch the above fare concessions or introduce other concessions which will bring real benefits to the elderly; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
(a) Since the rail merger on December 2, 2007, the MTR Corporation Limited (MTRCL) has continued to provide the $2 elderly concessionary fare for West Rail Line provided since 2004, and has extended the scheme such that elderly passengers enjoy that concessionary fare to travel on MTR (excluding Airport Express, East Rail First Class, journeys to and from Lok Ma Chau and Lo Wu stations, Light Rail, feeder bus and MTR bus) on Sundays and public holidays for up to November 30, 2008.
The comparison of the average daily patronage of elderly passengers on each MTR line on Sundays and public holidays between the period of December 2006 - November 2007 and the period of December 2007 - November 2008 is shown in the Annex.
According to MTRCL's statistics, elderly passengers benefited from the $2 ride on Sundays and public holidays enjoyed an average fare discount of about 50% per trip.
(b) MTRCL has been providing up to a half-fare concession to the elderly aged over 65. Over the past few years, MTR has been giving support to the annual "Senior Citizens Day" by offering the elderly free rides on the MTR on that day.
The offer of promotional schemes and the details of the schemes are commercial decisions of MTRCL. MTRCL will consider providing suitable promotional schemes having regard to relevant factors including its operations, the market situation and the passenger demand.
The Government will continue to encourage public transport operators, including railway corporation, to provide fare concessions taking into account their respective operations, to reduce the travel expenses of the public. For the elderly, we have proactively encouraged MTRCL to consider providing some forms of promotional concession again.
Ends/Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Issued at HKT 11:19
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