March 29, 2023
HONG KONG – Hong Kong’s sole railway operator, MTR Corp, may increase fares by 2.3 percent this year, under the company’s new fare adjustment mechanism that was announced last week.
The fares are expected to be increased in June, which means about 90 percent of passengers will face a fare hike of up to HK$40 cents ($5 cents). This would be the first time since 2019 that MTR has raised its fares.
On March 21, Secretary for Transport and Logistics Lam Sai-hung announced the MTR Corp’s profits from its property business would be linked to its metro fares.
The MTR said that the new fare plan for this year and implementation date will be announced later after the company completes the required administrative procedures
During a news conference on Tuesday, MTR Hong Kong Transport Services Director Jeny Yeung Mei-chun said that in the face of the continuing impact and severe challenges that the pandemic has imposed over the past three years, the company has reduced the fare adjustment range to balance fare affordability and the money needed to sustain MTR’s operations.
The MTR said that the new fare plan for this year and implementation date will be announced later after the company completes the required administrative procedures.
The spokesperson also said that the average annual fare adjustment has been lower than the inflation rate over the same period since 2007.
In addition, MTR has pledge to increase the interchange discount for passengers of over 500 green minibus routes from HK$30 cents to HK$50 cents per trip starting with the fourth quarter of this year.