LCQ11: Fare concessions for students offered by public transport operators
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Question:
Under the Student Travel Scheme implemented by the MTR Corporation Limited (MTRCL), students between the ages of 12 and 25 who are currently studying in full-time day courses offered by recognised institutions in Hong Kong may enjoy fare concessions. Full-time post-secondary students aged 26 or above are therefore unable to benefit from the Scheme. Some members of the public have pointed out that in recent years, quite a number of young people have, after working for several years, chosen to go back to school to take full-time courses. As these people have become financially self-reliant, the economic pressure borne by them may be greater than that borne by students aged 25 or below. As a result, such people have a greater need for fare concessions. It has been learnt that similar provisions on an upper age limit for the beneficiaries are not found in the student fare concession schemes offered by the railway services in certain overseas places (e.g. Sydney and Singapore). Regarding the fare concessions for students offered by public transport operators, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the details of the fare concessions for students currently offered by the public transport operators in the territory (including whether there is any upper age limit for the beneficiaries);
(2) whether it knows the justifications for MTRCL setting an upper age limit for the beneficiaries of its Student Travel Scheme;
(3) whether it will suggest to MTRCL that the upper age limit for the beneficiaries be removed; and
(4) whether it will consider including, in the new franchise/service concession agreements for public transport service to be granted in future, a provision requiring the operators concerned to provide fare concessions for students?
Reply:
President,
My reply to various parts of the Hon Ip Kin-yuen's question is as follows:
(1) and (4) It is the Government's policy that public transport services should be run under the Government's regulatory framework by the private sector in accordance with commercial principles, in order to increase operational efficiency. Fare concession schemes launched by different public transport operators are also implemented under this policy framework. Whether and how fare concession schemes are introduced are subject to the commercial decisions of individual operators. Nevertheless, the Government has been liaising closely with all public transport operators and encouraging them to introduce suitable fare concession schemes as far as possible, having regard to the principle of financial prudence required of such operators while taking account of their operating conditions, the economic environment of the market and other relevant factors, with a view to reducing the fare burden of the public.
At present the MTR Corporation Limited (MTRCL) offers fare concessions of about 50 per cent discount to holders of Personalised Octopus Card with "Student Status" (Note 1). The Kowloon Motor Bus Company (1933) Limited (KMB) also provides same day return half fares for passengers holding Personalised Octopus Card with "Student Status" on the designated groups of routes (Note 2). In respect of green minibuses, a total of 30 green minibus routes are currently offering student fare concessions ranging from $0.4 to $6 in the territory. Based on information available, operators usually require that passengers enjoying student fare concessions should hold Personalised Octopus Card with "Student Status", wear school uniforms or hold valid student cards. With regard to ferries, the operator of the "Central – Discovery Bay" route offers student concessionary fares from $16 to $20.5 for full-time students (Note 3) living in Discovery Bay.
The Transport Department will continue to actively encourage public transport operators to provide different fare concessions. Moreover, to relieve the fare burden of daily commuters who travel by local public transport and whose public transport expenses are relatively high, the Government is actively preparing for the launch of the non-means tested Public Transport Fare Subsidy Scheme and will strive to implement the scheme in the first quarter of 2019 so as to benefit the general public as soon as possible.
(2) and (3) The MTRCL has always been committed to providing passengers with safe, comfortable and reliable railway services. To thank passengers for their support and encourage different passenger groups to use railway services, the MTRCL offers a wide range of fare concessions and promotional schemes (including the MTR Student Travel Scheme) to various groups including the elderly, children, eligible students and persons with disabilities. In 2017, these on-going fare concession schemes brought a total of about $2.6 billion of additional fare savings to passengers. There is currently a daily average of about 500 000 passenger trips enjoying the student concessionary fares within the MTR network, and in 2017, the fare concessions that students enjoyed amounted to about $0.7 billion.
The MTRCL has advised that it, as a major public transport operator in Hong Kong, attaches great importance to corporate social responsibility. As early as in 1981, the pre-merger MTRCL began offering fare concessions of up to 50 per cent discount to eligible students aged between 12 and 25 who enrolled on full-time day courses offered by recognised institutions in Hong Kong. The reason why the upper age limit was then set at 25 can no longer be traced. In any case, the MTRCL is currently the major public transport operator in the territory to offer year round fare concessions of about 50 per cent discount per trip to eligible full time students of recognised local institutions. Such concessions are provided by the MTRCL through deployment of internal resources, which are of substantial magnitude. At this stage, the MTRCL has no plans to change the eligibility criteria, and terms and conditions for such fare concessions. The MTRCL will continue to offer fare concession schemes to different passengers from time to time in response to the market situation.
Note 1: Any person aged between 12 and 25 and currently enrolled on a full-time day course offered by a recognised institution will be eligible to apply.
Note 2: Must use the same Octopus Card for same-day return trips of fares at $12 or above for the same designated groups of day-time KMB solely-operated routes.
Note 3: Aged between 12 and 25.
Ends/Wednesday, April 25, 2018
Issued at HKT 15:00
Issued at HKT 15:00
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