Wheels align for effective check, balance

It is reassuring to hear Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po pledging not to raise the age threshold for the popular HK$2 scheme that allows anyone aged 60 and above to pay a flat fare of HK$2 for a ride on public transport.

Prior to Chan's public undertaking, it had been speculated the authority might move as far as to scrap the scheme or restore the eligible age back to 65, the level before it was lowered to 60 by then-chief executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor.

The lowered age has become a prominent feature of the scheme and now that its continuation has been confirmed by the top minister it should be fairly easy to keep the cost from exploding.

There are many ways to achieve this and it is believed that JoyYou card holders would not mind a review being conducted to make the scheme financially sustainable in the longer term as they understand that it is about the proper use of public money.

These senior citizens know that, if public money is not wisely used in an area, it would mean less money available for other areas that also require money to run.

Compared to the government's overall spending, the HK$2 scheme is fairly small but a review can help convey a message that, no matter how small a sum is involved in relation to the whole, it is expected to be spent smartly.

The same principle should also apply to all departments and public projects to make sure their spending is subject to effective checks and balances.

An argument that the HK$2 scheme is flawed has been the suggestion that the elderly riders were petty and inconsiderate, liking to hop on long-haul buses for short journeys to inflict greater expenses on the government since it would cost more to subsidize a longer journey.

That was an idiotic argument championed by political figures including Executive Council convenor Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee, who was among the first to denounce the scheme a year ago.

The problem is that it would be a misleading position to begin with - very often, it had been due to less public transport providing short journeys at some locations.

To put it in the correct perspective, the review is about the economy rather than morality.

Senior citizens accept that Hong Kong is running short of money after seeing it having to borrow many billions of dollars to keep running. They are also aware that they need to eat within their means and are prepared to accept the need to put some constraints on the scheme.

As said, there are many ways to achieve the goal.

For example: put a cap on the number of journeys per day; replace the flat fare with a discount; or, better still, agree with the transport operators on a predetermined sum independent of the number of journeys taken by JoyYou card holders.

But stop blaming the senior citizens for being greedy or inconsiderate.

According to a Legislative Council document in 2021, such hopping on and off transport was then estimated to cost the scheme a peanuts amount of HK$21 million to HK$27 million extra a year - a very small fraction of the budget for the scheme.

Passengers hopped on the next available bus because the wait for one commuting on a shorter route could be perpetual at some locations during certain periods of the day.