Fuss over MTR and Link Reit shows it’s election time again
Mike Rowse says the headbangers are getting a hearing even though their complaints about transport and rents are illogical and irrelevant – meaning the next eight months are going to feel very long
When normally sensible people start to sing from the same hymn sheet as the usual headbangers, you know it can only mean one thing: election season is here again.
Take the issue of MTR fare adjustment. There is an agreed formula for this. It takes into account such matters as the changes in wage levels in the transport sector, electricity tariffs, and the cost of various essential supplies. Applying the formula this year supported a fare adjustment of just over 2 per cent (against a background of wage levels rising by an average of 4 per cent plus).
MTR fares to increase for sixth straight year - this time covering trains to Guangdong
Out came the usual chorus which objects to every fare increase on principle (what principle is that, by the way?), pointing out that the MTR Corporation had made a huge profit. This was true but irrelevant: most of the surplus had come from property development, with rail services achieving a very low return on investment. The shareholders – including the public purse as majority owner – deserved their share.
The government just batted this nonsense into the long grass, right? Well, no. It agreed the situation needed looking into, and pressed the corporation to bring forward its periodic review of the formula. Our underground railway is the envy of the world. Visitors marvel at the frequency and reliability of services here, the cleanliness of carriages and stations, and, above all, the low fares. It is essential that any review not imperil its high standards.
Hong Kong’s chief executive takes on Link Reit over rent concerns
The other area where common sense has recently taken a back seat is Link Reit rent levels. Some years back, the Housing Authority sold the commercial areas of the podiums under public housing estates and associated car parks. The funds raised were then used to provide more housing units. A win-win, right? Having paid full market value for the assets, the Link Reit management proceeded to run the properties in a normal way.