In response to the epidemic last year, the Hong Kong government relaxed the threshold for the public transport subsidy program from 400 yuan to 200 yuan. Starting from April this year, the upper limit of the subsidy was also increased to 500 yuan.
However, the relevant arrangements will expire on December 31 this year. If the government does not continue the special measures, the monthly subsidies received by citizens will be reduced.
Member of the Legislative Council, Chen Heng-pin, believes that the plan can encourage more people to take public transport and relieve the burden of grassroots families. He therefore hopes that the Government can continue the special measures and make the arrangements regular.
He also pointed out that when he met with the government in June this year, the authorities did not reject his proposal. It is expected that there is a high chance of renewing the current arrangements.
Starting from January 1, 2019, if the public's monthly public transport expenditure exceeds 400 yuan, the government will provide 25% subsidy for the actual public transportation expenditure that exceeds the limit, and the monthly limit is 300 yuan, and then adjusted to 400 Yuan.
In order to allow more citizens to benefit from the plan during the epidemic, the government has introduced special measures earlier. Effective July 1, 2020, the planned monthly transportation expenditure level will be temporarily relaxed from 400 yuan to 200 yuan, and this year Starting from April, the planned monthly subsidy ceiling will be temporarily increased from 400 yuan to 500 yuan.
In other words, the current government will provide one-third of the subsidy for citizens' actual public transport expenses exceeding $200 per month, and the subsidy amount for each Octopus is capped at $500 per month.
However, the relevant arrangements will expire at the end of this year. At present, the government has not announced whether it will continue the special measures. If the plan "returns to its original form", it is expected that the number of beneficiaries and the amount of subsidies received by the public will also be reduced due to the higher threshold.
The "Public Transport Expenses Subsidy Scheme" will be extended to December 31 as a temporary measure to relax the monthly transportation expenditure level from 400 yuan to 200 yuan.
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According to the plan’s website information, after the threshold was relaxed last year, the number of beneficiaries rose from 1.66 million in June last year to 2.38 million in July. After raising the subsidy ceiling in April this year, it rose to about 3 million, and the total subsidy also reached About 308 million yuan.
Chen Hengpin believes that after the NWFB and Citybus fare increases next year, the subsidy program can "help" the citizens' fare expenses.
Therefore, he suggested that in addition to continuing the current special measures, the government should also regularize the arrangements.
He said that in June of this year, he met with relevant government departments regarding the extension of the measure. "Nothing has been heard to cancel (special measures), and none of the proposals have been rejected." Therefore, he expects a high chance of renewing the current arrangement.
In addition, the MTR 3.8% fare deduction discount will expire on January 1 next year. There are reports today (22nd) that MTR may no longer continue the 3.8% discount due to factors such as rising costs and business losses. After New Year's Day next year, the actual fare paid by passengers may increase by 3.8%.
Chen Hengpin is one of the candidates for the Southwest New Territories in the Legislative Council Geographical Constituency. In the same district, there are Chen Yingxin from the Federation of Trade Unions and Liu Cheuk Yu, an independent democrat.
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