Energising effect of $2 Transport Fare Scheme

11 May 2014

If you ask “what can one buy with two dollars?”, most people would say “very little”. However, in my eyes, two dollars can empower more than a million people to broaden their horizons, widen their social network and enrich their life.

Obviously, I am talking about the Public Transport Fare Concession Scheme for the Elderly and Eligible Persons with Disabilities, which is more commonly known as the “$2 Transport Fare Scheme” or simply the “$2 Scheme”.

The $2 Scheme has been very well received and I am glad to announce that its coverage will be further extended from next Sunday (May 18) onwards.

With the aim of enabling elderly people and eligible persons with disabilities to become more active and fuse into the community, the $2 Scheme has been rolled out in phases since mid-2012.

It covers the general MTR lines, franchised bus routes operated by five franchised bus companies and ferry routes run by 12 ferry operators. Senior citizens aged 65 or above and recipients under the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance Scheme aged between 12 and 64 with 100% disabilities and recipients of Disability Allowance in the same age group are currently eligible for the Scheme.

The Scheme has proved overwhelmingly popular since its launch. The daily passenger trips of beneficiaries has now reached almost 700 000. Of these, some 620 000 trips are taken by the elderly while the remainder by eligible persons with disabilities.

With effect from next Sunday, the Scheme will be extended to eligible children with disabilities aged below 12. The extension is expected to benefit about 9 000 disabled children. We hope that this will enable them to get around town more often and take part in more community activities.

The extension will bring the total number of eligible persons with disabilities up to 140 000. Together with the 1.02 million elderly people aged 65 or above, the $2 Scheme benefits altogether 1.16 million people.

The Government is devoting considerable resources to the $2 Scheme in the hope that it can help build a more caring and inclusive society. In 2013-14, we have reimbursed the transport operators concerned around $500 million. This sum is expected to reach some $600 million in 2014-15, and will continue to rise in tandem with the steadily ageing population and transport fare adjustments in future years.

This financial commitment is indeed substantial. But I firmly believe that it is value for money. It promotes active ageing as well as social inclusion.

Since the implementation of the $2 Scheme, wherever I go I always come across some senior citizens or persons with disabilities who are keen to tell me how they make good use of the Scheme to travel around town meeting friends and relatives, getting to the country side, taking part in community activities or voluntary work. Putting it in their own words, “we have become happier and healthier!” Indeed, some elderly people gladly say that they are visiting their grandchildren more often now, and can buy candies and toys for them with the savings from transport fare. I see dignity and joy on their faces.

We are preparing for the extension of the $2 Scheme to green minibuses (GMBs). Colleagues of the Labour and Welfare Bureau and Transport Department (TD) are actively exploring with the trade ways to resolve the various technical and operational problems.

There are currently over 150 GMB operators, involving more than 480 routes and 3 000 vehicles. Many of these operators are small in business scale with different financial positions and accounting arrangements. TD is exploring with the GMB trade and the Octopus Cards Limited to resolve the technical, operational, accounting and auditing issues. The $2 Scheme can then be extended to GMBs subject to the readiness of various parties concerned. As individual GMB operators may finish the required preparation work at different point in time, we will adopt a pragmatic approach to extend the Scheme to GMBs in phases. The Scheme is expected to be rolled out on the first batch of GMB routes starting from the first quarter of 2015.

The $2 Scheme not only benefits 1.16 million people through an annual commitment of $600 million or more, it also creates many smiling faces, immeasurable positive energy and considerable social benefits. Indeed, it enables the elderly to be socially mobile. It also promotes family harmony, a caring society and active ageing. Its positive multiplying effects are significant and far-reaching. In short, it is very much a win-win recipe.

The $2 Scheme is thus a very worthwhile community investment and lives up to the scheme’s slogan: “Your ticket to enriching life”.

Ends