LCQ21: Government Public Transport Fare Concession Scheme for Elderly and Eligible Persons with Disabilities
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Question:
To encourage the elderly and persons with disabilities to participate in community activities, the Government has implemented in phases the Government Public Transport Fare Concession Scheme for the Elderly and Eligible Persons with Disabilities (the Scheme) since June 2012. The public transport services currently covered under the Scheme include general lines of the Mass Transit Railway as well as some routes of franchised buses, green minibuses (GMBs) and ferries. The Government has indicated that it will review the Scheme three years after full implementation. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it knows the respective annual increases in passenger patronage and revenues generated for the operators of various types of public transport services by their participation in the Scheme;
(2) as the first phase of the Scheme has been implemented for over four years since June 2012, whether the authorities will conduct a review of the Scheme; if they will, of the details;
(3) given that red minibuses (RMBs) have not been included in the Scheme, but there are similarities (including running fixed routes and having Octopus card readers installed) between the mode of operation of some RMBs and that of GMBs, which have already been included in the Scheme, whether the authorities will consider including the former in the Scheme; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(4) whether the authorities will study the inclusion of more ferry services (e.g. kaito ferry service) in the Scheme; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(5) whether the authorities will study the extension of the Scheme to other public transport modes (e.g. trams); if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
The Government Public Transport Fare Concession Scheme for the Elderly and Eligible Persons with Disabilities (the Scheme) has been implemented by phases since 2012 to help build a caring and inclusive society by encouraging the elderly and persons with disabilities to actively participate in community activities. The Scheme enables the elderly and eligible persons with disabilities (Note 1) to enjoy a concessionary fare of $2 (Note 2) per trip to travel on the general Mass Transit Railway (MTR) lines, franchised buses, ferries and green minibuses (GMBs). Currently, around 1.12 million elderly people aged 65 or above and 150 000 eligible persons with disabilities benefit from the Scheme. In 2015-16, the Government reimbursed the relevant public transport operators a total of $870 million in revenue forgone as a result of the implementation of the Scheme. It is estimated that this reimbursement amount will increase to around $1.1 billion in 2016-17.
My reply to the question is provided below:
(1) Under the Scheme, the Government reimburses the participating public transport operators regularly the revenue forgone as a result of the implementation of the Scheme on an accountable and reimbursement basis. The operators are required to submit relevant information on the numbers of eligible passenger trips and the related amount of differential fare for reimbursement under the Scheme for the Government's review and approval. As a matter of fact, change of patronage of the public transport services could be affected by a host of factors. These include, for example, the overall economic environment, demographic change and community development, etc. The Government does not have information on the change of overall patronage and revenue of the participating operators as a result of the implementation of the Scheme. According to the information provided by the Transport Department (TD), since the implementation of the Scheme, the average daily passenger trips for the elderly and eligible persons with disabilities travelling on the above-mentioned public transports under the Scheme is around 980 000 trips, and the breakdown is as follows:
| Public transport Operators (Number) | Elderly | Eligible Persons with Disabilities | Total |
| MTR Corporation Limited (MTRCL) | 261 900 | 41 700 | 303 600 |
| Franchised bus (5) | 415 000 | 55 500 | 470 500 |
| Ferry (13) | 5 600 | 700 | 6 300 |
| GMB (157) | 175 500 | 23 700 | 199 200 |
| Total | 858 000 | 121 600 | 979 600 |
(2) The Scheme has been rolled out on MTR, franchised buses and ferries in three phases in June 2012, August 2012 and March 2013, respectively. It was later extended to eligible children with disabilities aged below 12 in May 2014 and further extended to GMBs in phases starting from March 2015. The Government will conduct a review of the Scheme three years after its full implementation (i.e. 2018-19). This is a comprehensive review which will cover areas such as the effectiveness, the mode of operation and views of the general public, etc.
(3) Under the Scheme, the Government reimburses the participating public transport operators regularly the revenue forgone as a result of the implementation of the Scheme on an accountable and reimbursement basis. As such, any fare adjustments for the public transport services currently covered by the Scheme shall be regulated by the Government. The mode of operation of red minibuses (RMBs) is different from that of GMBs. The routing and fare of RMBs are not regulated by the Government. Under the current policy, the Government will encourage the conversion of RMBs to GMBs by planning and introducing new GMB routes. The Government currently has no plan to extend the Scheme to RMBs. The Government will consider the scope of the modes of public transport under the Scheme in the comprehensive review scheduled to take place in 2018-19.
(4) All regular franchised and licensed passenger ferry services have already been covered by the Scheme. Most Kaito ferry services are operated in a highly flexible manner to meet ad hoc or recreational demand. Their service frequency, fare and timetable are not regulated by the Government. The operators are free to adjust their service frequency, fare and timetable according to operational considerations. In view of the fact that the Government reimburses revenue forgone to relevant public transport operators on an accountable and reimbursement basis (regular franchised and licensed passenger ferry services have been covered by the Scheme) and having regard to other relevant factors, the Government currently does not have any plan to extend the Scheme to cover Kaito ferry services. As mentioned in the previous paragraph, the Government will consider the scope of the modes of public transport under the Scheme in the comprehensive review scheduled to take place in 2018-19.
(5) The Scheme aims to allow elderly people and eligible persons with disabilities to travel on specified modes of public transport and use their services at a concessionary fare of $2 per trip. If the fare for elderly people and eligible persons with disabilities charged by the relevant public transport operators is lower than $2, the original fare which is below $2 will be charged. Currently the tram fare for the elderly is $1.1, which is lower than the concessionary fare of $2. If the Scheme were to be extended to tram service, eligible persons with disabilities would enjoy a reduced fare of $2 from $2.3 per ride with government subsidies, a reduction of $0.3. The Government has indicated its willingness to consider extending the Scheme to tram service. However, according to the understanding of the TD, the Hong Kong Tramways Limited has requested the Government to provide subsidies to the extent to allow free ride for elderly people and eligible persons with disabilities. This is not consistent with the arrangements of the Scheme.
Note 1: Elderly people refer to those aged 65 or above, whereas eligible persons with disabilities are persons aged below 65 with severe disability as defined under the Disability Allowance receiving the allowance and those with 100 per cent disabilities receiving Comprehensive Social Security Assistance in the same age group.
Note 2: The Scheme is designed to allow elderly people and eligible persons with disabilities to travel on specified modes of public transport and use their services at a concessionary fare of $2 per trip. If the fare for elderly people and eligible persons with disabilities charged by the relevant public transport operators is lower than $2, only the original fare which is below $2 will be charged.
Ends/Wednesday, November 9, 2016
Issued at HKT 14:55
Issued at HKT 14:55
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