The Government today (May 16) announced that eligible Hong Kong residents aged 65 or above should apply for the JoyYou Card from June 1, 2022, to end-October 2023 in batches to continue to enjoy the concessionary fare under the Government Public Transport Fare Concession Scheme for the Elderly and Eligible Persons with Disabilities ($2 Scheme).

     Applicants should submit their applications via the Octopus App mobile application or by posting the application forms to Octopus Cards Limited (OCL) in accordance with the following timetable:
 

Application period	Applicants' year of birth (Hong Kong identity card holder)
June 1 to 30, 2022	1956
July 1 to 31, 2022	1955
August 1 to 31, 2022	1954
September 1 to 30, 2022	1953
October 1 to 31, 2022	1952
November 1 to 30, 2022	1951
December 1 to 31, 2022	1950
January 1 to February 28, 2023	1948-1949
March 1 to April 30, 2023	1946-1947
May 1 to June 30, 2023	1943-1945
July 1 to August 31, 2023	1939-1942
September 1 to October 31, 2023	1938 or before

     OCL has set up a JoyYou Card application dedicated service hotline (3147 1388) to facilitate enquiries by elderly persons and their carers. In addition, from June 1, 2022, distribution points of paper application forms will be increased from over 330 to over 540. Apart from 97 Customer Service Centres of MTR stations (except Racecourse Station), 20 Home Affairs Enquiry Centres of District Offices, four Licensing Offices of the Transport Department, as well as over 210 District Elderly Community Centres, Neighbourhood Elderly Centres and Social Centres for the Elderly subvented by the Government, paper application forms will also be available in over 190 Estate Offices under the Hong Kong Housing Authority and 20 estates under the Hong Kong Housing Society.

     The links to download the Octopus App, the online version of the application form (without a postage-free return envelope) and details of distribution points for paper application forms (with a postage-free return envelope) have been uploaded to the JoyYou Card webpage (www.octopus.com.hk/joyyou/en), which also features videos illustrating detailed steps for making an application.

     The JoyYou Card will be sent to the eligible applicant's Hong Kong postal address in four weeks upon receipt of the completed application. The Government will subsidise the $20 administrative fee for the first application of eligible persons. Applicants do not need to pay any application fee to OCL. JoyYou Card holders should load more than $50 into the Card before initial use to cover the $50 refundable deposit charged by OCL.

     Upon completion of issue of JoyYou Cards to beneficiaries aged 65 or above, the Government will cease the existing arrangement of covering Anonymous Elder Octopus Cards and Personalised Octopus Cards in the $2 Scheme and all eligible persons must use JoyYou Cards to benefit from the $2 Scheme. Depending on the application progress, the Government will further announce the effective date of such arrangements.

     In addition, eligible persons with disabilities may continue to enjoy the $2 concessionary fare by using their existing Personalised Octopus Cards with valid "Persons with Disabilities Status" and do not need to apply for the JoyYou Card.

     The Government launched enhancement and anti-abuse measures of the $2 Scheme on February 27, 2022, including lowering the eligible age from 65 to 60 and requiring persons aged 60 to 64 to use the JoyYou Card to enjoy the $2 concessionary fare. The JoyYou Card carries the personal photo and the name of the eligible beneficiary and each eligible person will be issued with one card only.

Ends/Monday, May 16, 2022
Issued at HKT 11:30

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