EditorialBrake must be put on abuse of cut-price public transport fares in Hong Kong

Social welfare in Hong Kong is not the world’s best. But the government deserves credit for some of its measures, such as the flat HK$2 concessionary public transport fare for senior citizens and the disabled.

Commendable as it is, however, the commitment by the government to pay transport operators the difference is costly. The lowering of the eligibility age threshold from 65 to 60 last year by the former administration has fuelled even greater concern over the long-term financial burden of the scheme in our fast ageing society.

The Post has expressed its fears over the expanded scheme, but the new administration is yet to see the need for a review. Responding to a growing debate over the financial sustainability of the scheme, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said the concerns were understandable.

Lee would not say whether a review was under way, but stressed the priority was to crack down on abuses. “Looking at some of the cases, there are suspicions [of abuse] and it is important that we step up enforcement actions,” he said.

That the government apparently has no immediate plan to roll back subsidies may come as a relief to many who enjoy or are about to enjoy them. But taxpayers have taken issue with the generosity of the administration. Official figures reveal expenditure on the scheme quadrupled from about HK$296 million in 2012 to HK$1.2 billion in 2020.

The decision by former chief executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor to lower the age floor to 60 is also expected to benefit another 815,000 people and push the total cost to an estimated HK$8.6 billion by 2031.