The transportation subsidy is expected to benefit 2.2 million people. The public will receive it from February 16 next year.

The “Public Transport Cost Subsidy Scheme” proposed by the Chief Executive, Mrs Lam will be implemented on January 1, 2019. The public can receive it from February 16 next year. subsidy. According to the plan, the monthly subsidy amount is automatically calculated according to the public transportation expenses recorded by each Octopus. If the monthly public transportation expenditure exceeds 400 yuan, the government will subsidize the excess expenditure by 25%. The upper limit is 300 yuan. The plan is not With age restrictions, there is no need to pre-register for Octopus. It is expected that 2.2 million people will benefit. The public can obtain relevant subsidies through Octopus tapping readers through the MTR stations and any convenience stores and Wellcome supermarkets in Hong Kong.

The government estimates that the total annual subsidy is 2.3 billion

The Transport Department announced yesterday that the “Public Transport Subsidy Scheme” will be implemented from January 1 next year. The public can receive subsidies from February 16 next year. The public transport covered by the scheme includes MTR, buses, trams and green lines. Pakistan and ferry.

The Commissioner for Transport, Mr Chan Kam-po, said that members of the public are not required to apply for the scheme and there is no need to pre-register the Octopus. Under the scheme, if the public’s monthly public transport expenses exceed 400 yuan, the government will provide a 25% subsidy for the actual public transport expenses exceeding 400 yuan. The subsidy amount is capped at 300 yuan per month. There is no age or income limit for the scheme. The monthly subsidy will be automatically calculated based on the public transport expenses recorded by each Octopus. It is expected that 2.2 million people will benefit. The government expects a total annual subsidy of 2.3 billion yuan; as for service charges and administrative fees, it is about 3% of the 2.3 billion yuan.

Monthly subsidy from the 16th of each month

Chen Meibao pointed out that starting from January 1 next year, the monthly public transport expenses of each Octopus will be calculated. From the 1st of each month to the last day of each month, the public can receive the subsidy from the previous month on the 16th of each month. The monthly subsidy is limited to 3 months. For example, in January next year, the public can receive the subsidy for January between February 16 and May 15 next year.

She also said that under the scheme, the public can continue to benefit from the various public transport fares offered by the Government and various public transport operators. The monthly subsidy will be based on the actual monthly public record recorded by each Octopus. Calculation of transportation expenses.

The public transportation expenses covered by the daily use of the Octopus payment plan will be automatically recorded. The public can only calculate the relevant expenses and the Octopus record by purchasing the designated train ticket in cash or any payment method other than Octopus. The total amount of public transport expenses and subsidy amount under the scheme, including MTR Metropolitan Tickets, “Tuen Mun-Nan Cheong All-day Pass”, Airport Express Group Tickets and Return Tickets, and New Ferry Holiday Return Tickets.

The plan will cover part of the Red Street crossing

It is understood that the public only needs to take the card at the designated place. The subsidy amount will be automatically stored in Octopus, including 94 MTR stations, 5 LRT stations and 22 ferry terminals. The retail stores include 7-11 convenience stores. OK Convenience Stores and Wellcome Supermarkets, the public only need to indicate to the staff that they want to receive subsidies, they can receive them through the card reader. The mobile Octopus application and the Octopus service stations in more than 50 shopping malls can also receive subsidies.

The Transport Department has specifically reminded that the current maximum deposit value of Octopus is 1,000 yuan. If the public receives the subsidy, the balance of the Octopus card plus the subsidy amount will exceed the upper limit. The receiving machine will first issue part of the subsidy. After the balance of the Octopus is reduced, the card owner The remaining subsidies can be collected.

In addition, some of the red minibuses, village buses and street crossings that are applied to the Transport Department will be covered in the future. At present, the department has received more than 30 applications involving more than 70 routes, representing about 10% to 15% of the existing routes. These applications are in the final stage, including the five village bus routes in Ma Wan and the first city in Sha Tin. The two green minibuses include Aberdeen to and from Mong Kok, Aberdeen to and from Kwun Tong, Western Harbour to and from Tsuen Wan, Wan Chai to and from Mong Kok and Wan Chai to and from Kwun Tong. Round the gate, the horse water back and forth to Dongpingzhou, and the tower gate to and from the Yellowstone Pier. The participating vehicles and street crossings will have blue identification signs and similar signs will be displayed on Octopus machines.