Policy Address
Relieving the Burden of Commuting
40. When fares for public transport services are adjusted due to increasing operational costs, the public also have to shoulder higher transport cost. We therefore propose to introduce three measures to alleviate the burden of transport expenses. First, we will enhance the Public Transport Fare Subsidy Scheme by increasing the subsidy rate from one-fourth to one-third of the monthly public transport expenses in excess of $400, as well as raising the subsidy cap from the existing level of $300 to $400 per month. As a result, the annual subsidy provided by the Government will increase from $2.3 billion to about $3.1 billion.
41. Second, where traffic conditions permit, we will seek to reduce the cost of using government tolled tunnels and Control Areas incurred by the public, public transport operators and transport trades. The successive commissioning of the Tuen Mun – Chek Lap Kok Link (TM – CLKL) Subsea Tunnel and the Tseung Kwan O – Lam Tin Tunnel (TKO – LTT) in the coming two years will enable the diversion of traffic to and from Lantau Island and Tseung Kwan O respectively, thus creating an opportunity for waiving the relevant tunnel tolls. We suggest waiving the tolls of the new TM – CLKL Subsea Tunnel and the Lantau Link upon the commissioning of the TM – CLKL Subsea Tunnel scheduled for the end of 2020 and, similarly, waiving the tolls of the new TKO – LTT and the Tseung Kwan O Tunnel upon commissioning of the TKO – LTT scheduled for the end of 2021.
42. Third, in view of the operating difficulties faced by the outlying island ferry services in Hong Kong, the Government has been providing Special Helping Measures to six outlying island ferry routes since 2011 in order to maintain services and reduce the impact of fare increases on passengers. We will extend these measures to eight other outlying island ferry routes. Annual expenditure for subsidising these 14 ferry routes is about $260 million. We will also replace the entire fleets of 11 ferry routes and introduce greener vessels within around a decade from 2021 in two phases, which involves the purchase of 47 new vessels to enhance service quality and promote environmental protection.
