Hong Kong MTR passengers face 4.3pc fare increase from June
Under-fire railway operator to push up prices by 4.3pc from June even though it raked in HK$15.6b last year and amid performance complaints
Railway passengers will see fares rise 4.3 per cent in June despite the MTR Corporation's HK$15.6 billion profit last year.
The increase is the second biggest in the six years in a row that fares have gone up. It prompted questions from lawmakers about the fairness of the formula under which the corporation, majority owned by the government, sets fares.
It comes amid growing criticism of the MTR network's performance and controversy over rising costs and missed deadlines on new railways, which have tarnished the transport operator's once-golden reputation.
The fare increase is calculated from the average of the annual inflation rate for December and the yearly increase in wages for the transport sector, both of which were at 4.9 per cent. A productivity factor, 0.6 of a percentage point, is deducted.
The MTR Corp announced the increase yesterday. It will give precise details of new fares and set out a package of concessions for the year ahead later, the corporation added.
The MTR last week announced HK$220 million of concessions for travellers this year, in the form of a discount of 10 per cent on a passenger's second trip of the day. That was on top of HK$500 million of measures announced alongside its 3.6 per cent fare rise last year.