A Hong Kong green minibus operator has offered refunds to passengers who were overcharged on four routes by up to HK$1 per ride between May and July. Passengers who paid more they should have for their trips on green minibus routes 501A, 501C, 501K and 501S between May 19 and July 16 may get a refund from the operator, Fully Mint Limited, starting on Monday, the Transport Department said. A probe was launched by the Transport Department last month after the green minibus operator charged passengers higher fares than the price approved by the government, with the differential ranging between HK$0.
3 to HK$1 per trip. The affected routes operated mainly in Fanling with stops at the Fanling MTR station and major housing estates including Yung Shing Court, Yan Shing Court and Dawning Views. The 501S route operated overnight and travelled between Sheung Shui and Kowloon Bay, passing by Tai Po, Sha Tin and Wong Tai Sin.
Those who paid overcharged fares with their Octopus card may get a full refund at 51 service points, including the Fanling and Sheung Shui MTR stations on or before April 30 next year. The operators’ staff will provide assistance at Wo Mun Street Public Light Bus Terminus in Luen Wo Hui between 9 am to 1 am and 6 pm to 8 pm every day. On Monday, refunds were deposited directly into the accounts of passengers who paid for their trips using Alipay and AlipayHK.
Those who paid with cash would need to visit the Luen Wo Hui terminus at designated time slots to get their refund onsite on – or before – September 4, after providing their name and contact information. Passengers who enjoy fare concessions for the elderly and disabled persons were not affected by the overcharging. Hong Kong’s green minibuses are operated by private companies that submit tenders to run the routes.
Operators must abide by the timetables and fares set by authorities. As of last December, there were 359 main routes in Hong Kong, with 67 on Hong Kong Island, 82 in Kowloon and 210 in the New Territories. New Territories North lawmaker Edward Lau said last month “quite a lot of” passengers were overcharged, as the four affected routes were frequently used by Fanling residents to travel between housing estates and the MTR station.
According to the DAB legislator, Fully Mint Limited had applied to the Transport Department for a rise in fares for the four routes. But before the department confirmed an effective date of the increased fare, the operator began charging passengers the new fare in mid-May. Any fare increase requires the approval of the Transport Department, while electronic payment operators would also need to review approval papers from the government before raising the fare, Lau said.
The lawmaker called on the government to consider whether the operator should be penalised, and review whether the existing mechanism for fare increases had any loopholes. “The operator has to take the biggest responsibility this time, and they must, together with the electronic payment operators, explain why they had adjusted the fare without the approval of the Transport Department,” Lau wrote in a Facebook post dated July 27. Support HKFP | Policies & Ethics | Error/typo? | Contact Us | Newsletter | Transparency & Annual Report | Apps Help safeguard press freedom & keep HKFP free for all readers by supporting our team.
