Hong Kong commuters to get subsidy boost after government lowers threshold as part of coronavirus relief scheme
- Transport minister Frank Chan says monthly average subsidy amount per person could increase from around HK$75 to HK$99.9
- Under first year of the scheme 2.2 million people benefited from the subsidy
Millions of Hong Kong commuters will get a third more in their monthly public transport subsidies after the government temporarily lowered the welfare scheme’s threshold under the HK$137.5 billion (US$18 billion) relief package.
With the sector badly hit by the coronavirus epidemic, transport minister Frank Chan Fan said on Saturday that the monthly average subsidy amount per person could increase from around HK$75 to HK$99.9.
The revision of the Public Transport Fare Subsidy Scheme was part of the new relief measures announced on Wednesday to aid struggling businesses and residents during the Covid-19 outbreak.
Under the scheme, around 3.8 million commuters are expected to get a subsidy amounting to one-third of their public travel expenses exceeding HK$200 a month, half of the original threshold of HK$400. The subsidy cap was HK$400.
“If you are talking about [the increase in] ratio, it’s a lot. From some HK$70 to HK$100, there is a one-third increase,” Chan said on a radio programme.
