The concessionary HK$2 transport fare scheme for the elderly and persons with disabilities began life with clear objectives and manageable costs. It was well intentioned and made a meaningful difference to the lives of the intended beneficiaries.
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Unfortunately, it then lost focus, was extended to hundreds of thousands of less deserving individuals and the costs rose exponentially. Hence the attempt in this year’s budget to rein the scheme in and bring the costs under control.
However the intended remedies bring problems of their own, not least the revelation that our much vaunted technological prowess is not all it’s cracked up to be. Apparently it may take 18 months to effect the necessary software changes, so cost saving won’t kick in until the autumn of next year. Frankly that is ridiculous and it’s time to think again.
In the last policy address of his second term, in 2011, then chief executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen announced the government’s intention to subsidise travel for seniors aged 65 and above and persons with certain disabilities. The scheme was implemented in 2012 and on top of the various concessionary arrangements already in place at the transport operators’ own expense.
The plan was imaginative and socially significant. It is easy for seniors to gradually become disengaged from the wider community, especially after retirement when they have less reason to venture out of their homes and less income with which to do so. This can accelerate their mental, and then physical, decline.
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Capping the cost of public transport at HK$2 (26 US cents) per trip removes any disincentive and indirectly encourages a more active and healthier retirement. Setting the qualifying age at 65 was in line with the widely accepted retirement age at the time, which also coincided with eligibility for various welfare payments.