The Welfare Secretary of Hong Kong, Chris Sun Yuk-han, recently announced that a revised pricing model for the HK$2 (25 US cent) transport fare system is in the pipeline. However, implementation is expected to take until September of the following year due to necessary updates to the Octopus card readers. The overhaul operation will affect approximately 17,000 card readers installed on various transport modes, including ferries and vehicles.

Yuk-han provided insights into the usage of the Octopus card system, revealing that during the previous year, only a small fraction of the card users, 360 elderly or disabled individuals, made more than 240 trips per month utilizing the concessionary fare.

The Financial Secretary, Paul Chan Mo-po, in the recent budget announcement, proposed a cap of 240 trips per month. For trips costing more than HK$10, he suggested charging 20% of the full fare. However, this proposal was met with criticism for not offering substantial savings and for its potential adverse effects on a significant part of the population.

Previous reports indicated an estimated 18-month period required to implement the new fare scheme. The delay was attributed to Octopus, the stored-value card company, allegedly lacking the necessary technical capabilities for this undertaking.

Yuk-han expanded on this at a recent press briefing, explaining the meticulous process involved. “Ensuring all 17,000 Octopus card readers function flawlessly post-update is a time-consuming task. Furthermore, most of these devices are offline, and updates and tests can only be carried out after operating hours, which adds to the timeline,” he said.

He further stated that a previous update, which lowered the age threshold for concessionary fares from 65 to 60 years, took the government 26 months to complete. However, he remains hopeful that the forthcoming update will take no more than 18 months.