“$2 transport concession scheme” extended to over 80% of green minibus routes from March 29

15 March 2015

The Public Transport Fare Concession Scheme for the Elderly and Eligible Persons with Disabilities, more commonly known as the “$2 transport fare concession scheme”, has been very well received by eligible users.

This highly popular scheme will be given a welcome boost with its extension by phases to green minibus services (GMB) starting on Sunday, March 29 (in two weeks’ time). In the first phase, over four-fifths of Hong Kong’s GMBs covering a total of 407 routes throughout the territory will join the Government-funded scheme to offer discounted fare for elderly citizens aged 65 and above as well as eligible persons with disabilities.

There will be 2 587 GMBs participating in the first phase. All of them will display a specially designed logo for ease of identification by the beneficiaries. These GMBs account for 82% of all GMBs in Hong Kong. The 407 routes cover all 97 routes serving Hong Kong Island, 99 routes serving Kowloon, 176 routes serving the New Territories, and 35 inter-district routes. As for those routes not yet covered in this stage, there are usually other choices of public transport including buses and Mass Transit Railway (MTR) lines.

Some people have asked why the extension scheme cannot cover all GMB routes at one go. Let me explain. Whilst it only takes “one tap” of an octopus card to enjoy the $2 concessionary fare, the process of enabling this to happen is indeed much more complicated than “one beep”. Specifically, there are currently 159 GMB operators of varying business scales and financial modes. Their accounting arrangements differ. To resolve the technical, operational, financial, accounting and auditing issues faced by different operators, the Labour and Welfare Bureau and the Transport Department have been working closely with the GMB trade and the Octopus Cards Limited over the past few months.

In keeping with the Government’s “people-oriented and users-oriented” philosophy, we have adopted a flexible and pragmatic approach by going for a phased extension in the light of the readiness of individual operator. I am glad that our concerted efforts have paid good dividends: 127 operators (80% of the total of 159) are now ready to join the $2 Scheme two weeks later.

GMBs participating in the scheme will display a designated logo on their windscreens, next to their side doors and atop their Octopus readers. The GMB operators concerned will also put up posters at GMB termini to help publicise and promote the Scheme.

Tap your Octopus cards when you see this logo, and enjoy a $2 ride!

Starting tomorrow, the Government will step up publicity through issuing a press release to announce the routes covered by the extension and broadcasting television and radio announcements. We will also distribute posters and leaflets through the 18 District Offices, elderly centres and service centres for persons with disabilities etc, as well as upload the relevant details to the dedicated website of the Scheme.

The Transport Department will continue to liaise closely with the remaining 32 GMB operators to encourage them to join the scheme and assist them in overcoming the operational and technical issues as far as practicable. Subject to their interest and the progress of the preparatory work, we plan to roll out the second batch of GMB routes under the Scheme around mid-2015. We understand some smaller operators may ultimately choose not to participate in the scheme and we have to respect their decision. In order to ensure that all new GMB routes will be covered by the scheme, the Transport Department has, since last June, incorporated conditions to require operators to join the scheme upon the introduction of service when inviting applications for operating GMB route packages.

The $2 transport fare concession scheme aims to help build a caring and inclusive society by encouraging our elderly and eligible persons with disabilities to participate more in community activities. The total number of eligible beneficiaries under the scheme is around 1.2 million, with about 1.07 million elderly people aged 65 or above and some 140 000 eligible persons with disabilities.

To date, the number of daily passenger trips taken by beneficiaries amounts to around 740 000. Of these, some 650 000 trips (around 88%) are taken by elderly people and the remaining 90 000 trips (around 12%) by eligible persons with disabilities. In 2014-15, the Government’s reimbursement of revenue forgone to the operators of MTR, franchised buses and ferries concerned under the scheme stood at about $580 million. With the scheme’s extension to GMBs and the steady rise in our elderly population, this figure will rise to over $900 million in 2015-16. Although this represents a substantial financial commitment on the part of the Government, we believe that this is money well spent.

In the past two years since the launch of the $2 transport fare concession scheme, many senior citizens have happily shared with me how they enjoyed the $2 fare concession for a wide range of activities. Many younger friends also observed that their parents or grandparents have become more positive, energetic and cheerful. This is exactly what the Government seeks to achieve through promoting “active ageing” and social inclusion.

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