By The SUN
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| The JoyYou card is given to those aged 60 to 64 so they can also enjoy the discounted fare |
Residents
aged between 60 and 64 years old, as well as the disabled, began enjoying the
$2 concession fare in most public transportation starting today, but only if
they used their JoyYou Octopus cards.
Previously, those who enjoyed the benefit were only those aged 65 and above.
The JoyYou cards were distributed in phases last year to qualified residents who needed to submit their HKID cards, along with a photograph, to enjoy the discounted fares.
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The scheme covers the MTR, franchised buses, 45 red minibus routes, green minibuses and 11 ferry routes.
Those aged 65 years and above can still use their current Octopus cards to enjoy the $2 concession fare, while authorities work out a JoyYou application arrangement for them.
But the privilege gave little joy to one new JoyYou card holder who said she would probably not have much use for it amid the spiraling number of Covid-19 infections in the city.
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With figures showing the elderly are most at risk of suffering from severe complications from the virus, she said she was not likely to use it soon, or in the coming days.
“I had thought of going out today to enjoy the perk, but I changed my mind after hearing about the latest surge in Covid-19 cases,” she said.
The
launch of the new scheme coincided with Hong Kong reporting a record 26,026
confirmed cases, with 110 additional deaths, mostly involving elderly people.
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But the elderly are not the only ones shying away from going out and using public transportation.
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Transport operators including the MTR Corporation, have reduced the frequency of their services in recent weeks because of a marked drop in patronage.
MTR said that from Feb 11, it was reducing the frequency of train services in some railway lines starting at 8pm onwards. This was after it noted a 40% drop in patronage of its non-peak hour services, compared to December 2021; and 50% compared to pre-pandemic times.
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At about the same time, Bravo Transport Services which runs CityBus and New World First Bus said its passenger load plunged by more than 40 percent as the fifth wave of the pandemic began to take hold.
It has also cut down the number of bus trips after the rush hours.
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