MTR fare rise may be higher than claimed

I NOTE with interest that the MTR Corporation has recently announced a fare increase effective May 1, which is ''slightly lower . . . than inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index.'' (MTR fare adjustment notice).

This may not be true. Most passengers travelling on the MTR purchase common stored value tickets, because these tickets, among other benefits, provide for an unlimited final journey on either the MTR or KCR.

Currently the minimum card purchase is $70 for which the customer will receive from $70 to $78.80 worth of travel. For those of us who tend to use multiple tickets and attempt to time our trips so that the final trip is a longer one, the tendency is for the total value received to be closer to the larger figure. (Note that, excluding the value of the extra time wasted purchasing stored value tickets, the $70 ticket is a better value than the $100 ticket as the bonus inherent in the $100 ticket of $3 is only 10 per cent of the extra whereas the potential trip bonus on the $70 ticket is 12.6 per cent).

What the MTR neglects to point out in its current analysis of fares, is that it recently increased the minimum stored value ticket that may be purchased, from $50 to $70, one of the effects of which is to reduce the potential trip bonus from 17.6 per cent to the 12.6 per cent mentioned above. Only the MTR knows exactly what the average percentage of individuals using such tickets in the system is and what their average final trip bonus happens to be. However, for people like myself the fare increase due to the introduction of the new $70 ticket tends to be closer to the high end of the range, or a 4.5 per cent increase.

Whatever the system-wide number happens to be, I would wager that when added to the currently proposed 7.1 per cent increase the figure is higher than the average Consumer Price Index increase of 8.6 per cent. It may be that such an increase is justified in light of the level of service provided, ridership levels, funding needs, etc. However, given that the MTR is a government monopoly it behooves management to provide the public with all the facts and figures.

Incidentally, should the $50 student stored value ticket which the MTR proposes to introduce ''to meet a research need'' be followed by the withdrawal of the $30 ticket then this alone could represent a maximum fare increase of up to 8.4 per cent for students (assuming the final trip is made on the KCR).