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Following is a question by the Hon Albert Chan and a written reply by the Secretary for Transport and Housing, Professor Anthony Cheung Bing-leung, in the Legislative Council today (October 24):
Question:
The MTR Corporation Limited (MTRCL) has launched the "Tung Chung - Hong Kong Monthly Pass" (the Pass) since October. Passengers holding the Pass may make unlimited journeys between Tung Chung Line stations and Hong Kong Station/Central Station, but they have to pay additional fares for journeys to and from other stations. Quite a number of Tung Chung residents have reflected to me that the sum of the additional fares paid by them and the value of the Pass is much higher than the fares paid with the Octopus card by a passenger not holding the Pass. Therefore, the Pass cannot alleviate the burden of travelling expenses on them. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council if it knows:
(a) the number of Passes sold by MTRCL since the Pass was launched;
(b) how the fares paid with the Octopus card by a passenger not holding the Pass for journeys from Tung Chung Station to various stations not on the Tung Chung Line compare with the total fares for the same journeys paid by a passenger holding the Pass who makes 50 trips on the Tung Chung Line each month (set out in a table);
(c) the number of Tung Chung residents who work outside Tung Chung and among them, the estimated number who benefit from the Pass (set out in a table by District Council districts); and
(d) the reasons why MTRCL requires passengers holding the Pass to pay additional fares for journeys to stations not on the Tung Chung Line; whether the authorities will request MTRCL to cancel such a requirement; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
Reply to various parts of the question is as follows:
(a) The MTR Corporation Limited (MTRCL) launched the new promotion scheme of "Tung Chung - Hong Kong Monthly Pass" on October 1, 2012. Passengers can purchase the "Tung Chung - Hong Kong Monthly Pass" to be encoded onto their Octopus Cards seven days before or after the first day of each month. Some 5,200 "Tung Chung - Hong Kong Monthly Pass" were sold in the first month (i.e. October 2012) of the launching of this promotion scheme so far.
(b) The price of "Tung Chung - Hong Kong Monthly Pass" is $550. Holder of this monthly pass can make unlimited rides between Tung Chung Line stations and Hong Kong/Central station within the month. Commuters who frequently travel between Tung Chung Station and Hong Kong/Central station can enjoy up to 30% fare savings. As requested by the Honourable Member in the question, assuming a total of 50 rides per month, the total fares using the "Tung Chung - Hong Kong Monthly Pass" and the adult fares using Octopus for travelling from Tung Chung Station to all other stations of the MTR network (except stations of the Tung Chung Line) are set out at Annex 1. The information as set out in Annex 1 uses the example of a total of 50 rides per month for illustration purpose. If passengers take more than 50 rides per month, they may enjoy more fare discounts with the "Tung Chung - Hong Kong Monthly Pass". MTRCL will enhance the publicity in this regard. Passengers may purchase the most economical type of tickets in accordance with their travel needs when riding on MTR. Passengers may also approach MTRCL's Customer Service Centres for enquiries in making choices.
(c) According to the information provided by the Census and Statistics Department, the distribution of working population with fixed place of work in Hong Kong and living in Tung Chung by place of work in 2011 is at Annex 2. Please see reply (a) for the total number of beneficiaries under the "Tung Chung - Hong Kong Monthly Pass" scheme. As regards the number of beneficiaries based on working districts, MTRCL does not keep such statistics.
(d) According to MTRCL, monthly pass schemes are introduced to benefit passengers living in remote districts who frequently take long train journeys or those who regularly travel on a specific rail line. Apart from the "Tung Chung - Hong Kong Monthly Pass", MTRCL also offers monthly passes for the East Rail Line and West Rail Line.
All of MTRCL's existing monthly pass schemes, including the "Tung Chung - Hong Kong Monthly Pass", have specified the respective valid journeys. Passengers using a monthly pass to travel beyond the valid journeys will be charged the normal fare for the additional section of the journey. Any change to the rail line-based monthly pass fare model would bring about impact to the entire MTRCL's basic fare structure and passengers would be affected. MTRCL considers that careful consideration is necessary.
Ends/Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Issued at HKT 12:01
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