No plans to split elderly into groups for HK$2 transport fare: Hong Kong minister
Hong Kong will retain the eligibility age for the HK$2 (26 US cents) public transport concessionary fare while overhauling other aspects of the scheme, despite data showing that younger users account for the bulk of the subsidy expense, the welfare minister has said.
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Chris Sun Yuk-han said on Saturday that society should not distinguish among older residents, as they should all be treated as 'elders'.
'Our aim is to keep the scheme simple and easy to understand,' the secretary for labour and welfare said. 'We should not distinguish between the 60-64 age group and the 65-and-above age group.
'They are all our elders and have contributed to society. Whether they are working or retired, we launched the HK$2 scheme in the hope that they can go out more and take part in more social activities.'
As part of the government's efforts to rein in a deficit of HK$87.2 billion for the current financial year and a predicted HK$67 billion for the next, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po announced in his budget last month plans to cap the HK$2 public transport subsidy scheme at 240 trips per month and only provide an 80 per cent discount for rides with fares exceeding HK$10.
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He did not address calls that trips by residents aged 60 to 64 should be subsidised less than the ones taken by their older counterparts.
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