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Tuesday, December 12, 2017, 18:05
HK: Planned transport subsidy scheme expands scope
By Carrie Qiu
Tuesday, December 12, 2017, 18:05 By Carrie Qiu

HONG KONG - The city's top official announced on Tuesday that the Hong Kong government will include the red minibuses, village buses and staff buses into the public transport subsidy scheme.

Also included was kaito ferries, the small, motorized ferry usually used to serve remote coastal settlements in Hong Kong's outlying islands.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said before the weekly Executive Council meeting that the annual expense of the subsidies is expected to be HK$2.3 billion and will benefit about 2.2 million people.

She added that the Transport and Housing Bureau will later make a detailed announcement, and if the plan is approved by the Legislative Council, it can be implemented within a year.

Under the non-means-tested Public Transport Fare Subsidy Scheme introduced in Lam's maiden Policy Address in October, once someone pays more than HK$400 on public transport with an Octopus card in a month, they will be entitled to a 25-percent subsidy on any further fares.

The initial version of the scheme covers fares of MTR, franchised buses, green minibuses, ferries and trams.

carrieqiu@chinadialyhk.com

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