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Hong Kong’s MTR Corporation to increase fares by 2.3 per cent in rail giant’s first ticket price rise in 4 years

South China Morning Post
28 March 2023 (Hong Kong)

  • Rise is derived from a newly overhauled fare adjustment formula that is based largely on the inflation rate and a wage index for transport workers
  • Fare increase means 90 per cent of MTR passengers will have to pay an extra 40 HK cents per trip at most

Hong Kong rail giant the MTR Corporation will increase fares by 2.3 per cent this year, based on a revamped mechanism that factors in profits from its property developments to rein in ticket price increases.

The rise was derived from a newly overhauled fare adjustment formula for the city’s sole railway operator that was based largely on the inflation rate and a wage index for transport workers in December. The year-on year inflation rate rose 2 per cent while wages jumped 3.6 per cent based on government data released on Tuesday.

The fare rise means 90 per cent of MTR passengers will have to pay an extra 40 HK cents per trip at most.

Like the broader community, the “MTR was hard hit by the continuous unprecedented challenges amid the pandemic over the past three years”, said Jeny Yeung Mei-chun, the MTR Corp’s Hong Kong transport services director.

“Around 90 per cent of fares are expected to have an upwards adjustment of 40 cents or less this year, suitably balancing the public’s affordability and the corporation’s ability to continue to provide high-quality, reliable and efficient railway services to Hong Kong passengers.”

The rail firm said it would work out the updated fare table with the effective date announced later. It insisted that since the 2007 rail merger between the MTR Corp and the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation (KCRC), its average annual fare adjustment rate had been lower than year-on-year inflation.

The corporation also said from the fourth quarter this year, an interchange discount for passengers of green minibuses on more than 500 designated routes would be increased from 30 cents to 50 cents, and pledged to continue ongoing fare concessions, which were worth over HK$2.1 billion last year, to riders including the elderly, children and the disabled.

Source
https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3215106/hong-kong-rail-giant-mtr-corporation-increase-fares-23-cent-first-ticket-price-rise-4-years

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