MTR fare mechanism refined

March 21, 2023

(To watch the full press conference with sign language interpretation, click here.)

 

The Government today announced that the Mass Transit Railway (MTR) Fare Adjustment Mechanism (FAM) has been revised and will link fares directly with the MTR Corporation’s (MTRC) property development profits in Hong Kong.

 

Together with the MTRC, the Government reviewed the fare adjustment mechanism and the review was subsequently approved by the Executive Council. The enhanced mechanism will take effect in June.

 

MTR fares will be linked directly to the MTRC’s property development profits by revising the calculation method of the productivity factor in the FAM formula to lower the corporation’s fare in the long run to benefit all passengers.

 

Based on the property development profit in 2022, the fare adjustment rate this year would be lowered by 0.8 percentage points.

 

A 1.2% special fare reduction will also be set for the fare adjustment this year to offset over 40% of the 2.85% unrecouped fare adjustment rate due to the affordability cap arrangement.

 

The remaining 1.65% recoupment will continue to be deferred and the MTRC will defer implementing another 0.2% of the fare increase rate this year.

 

Additionally, the money to be set aside for incidents that cause disruptions of more than three hours and the maximum amount to be set aside per incident under the service performance rebate will be increased.

 

Once the amount set aside under the performance rebate reaches $25 million, a Special Fare Day will be arranged on a designated Saturday or Sunday when passengers can pay half price for taking the MTR.

 

Announcing details of the enhanced FAM this afternoon, Secretary for Transport & Logistics Lam Sai-hung said the Government is clear in its review objectives to strike a balance between different considerations and needs.

 

He emphasised that a breakthrough has been achieved in the review to link MTR fares directly to its property development profits, thereby responding to calls from the community. 

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