Financial Secretary Paul Chan is widely expected to unveil measures to trim public expenditure when he delivers his latest budget on Wednesday, with one of them being a possible adjustment to the HK$2 transport fares for people over 60.

Chan, who said his budget would present a plan to control spending and increase revenue, has already said the scheme is not financially viable in the long run and that expenses are snowballing.

Members of the public who spoke to RTHK say they do not want to lose the scheme – which was introduced in 2012 and expanded in 2022 – but said they understood that things need to be adjusted when times are tight.

Jim is among the 2.4 million or so beneficiaries of the scheme, who has been paying concessionary fares since turning 60 last May.

"Of course, I don't want the scheme to go away. It saves me a great deal a month every single month on transport. But I understand the dilemma and the fiscal deficit.

“I'm willing to compromise somehow in order to keep the scheme the way it is. There could be some compromise in terms of putting a limit on how much of an allowance you actually get."

Seventy-five year-old David also felt the welfare initiative should be adjusted to go with the times.

"The whole idea was for retired people to go out. But now, a lot of people are not retired at 65. A lot of people are working full time and are taking advantage of this," he said.

“At this moment, the Hong Kong government is in a lot of deficit. They're not rich as they used to be. So when you don't have the money, you should consider cutting your expense."

The government reimbursed HK$4 billion to public transport operators in the previous financial year. That figure could shoot up to HK$6 billion this year.

But even as the expenditure balloons, unionist lawmaker Bill Tang said the scheme needs to stay.

"We think the HK$2 scheme is very, very positive for elderly or disabled [people's] welfare. it's beneficial to release their workforce, not only to employment, but also help to take care of their relatives, more support to the family,” he said.

Tang suggested an incremental bus fare system so that passengers who hop off after only a few stops pay a fraction of the full fare. He said that would lessen the government's burden in terms of the reimbursement amount.

The DAB also opposed any changes to the scheme, saying its expenditure is a drop in the bucket compared with the estimated deficit of HK$100 billion.

The Business and Professionals Alliance (BPA) proposed raising the concessionary fare to HK$3 or HK$4, to align with inflation.

BPA lawmaker Priscilla Leung also suggested setting a cap on the transport subsidy each beneficiary can get.

"We do not agree to cancel a particular sector who are enjoying the scheme right now, including the age span from 60 to 64. We just need to set up a very clear scheme, for example, they may only use two times per day. So they will use it out of necessity,” she said.

Fellow lawmaker Gary Zhang, meanwhile, is calling for a cautious approach.

He urged authorities to hold off drastic changes until analysing data such as people's travel patterns.