An economics professor on Wednesday said he supports proposed changes to the HK$2 transport subsidy scheme but questioned whether capping the number of journeys would offer a significant boost to the public coffers.

The 240 monthly maximum number of trips mentioned by Financial Secretary Paul Chan in his budget works out at around eight per day on average in future.

Ho Lok-sang, adjunct professor of Lingnan University’s Department of Economics, said the government has good intentions in trying to cut costs.

But he also said very few over 60s make that many journeys, so the move won't save much for the government.

“I don't think capping the number of trips for the elderly makes sense. It's not going to make much effect on the revenue anyway because there are relatively few people who will travel so many times,” he told RTHK.

“I think there's really no point in making that kind of provision, because it makes people feel bad and it also tarnishes the government's image in terms of caring for the benefit of the well-being of the elderly.”

Ho added that a small number of people could be affected by the cap, such as those who need to make a lot of transfers.

New People's Party chairwoman Regina Ip, for her part, said she welcomes the changes to the fare scheme, which include offering an 80 percent discount for journeys that cost regular passengers more than HK$10, rather than the current HK$2 flat rate subsidised trip.

"I think the government measures introduced to make it sustainable are fairly moderate," said Ip, who's also convenor of the Executive Council.

"(There is) no impact on the qualifying age of those benefiting from this concession, but it would help to solve the problem of paying very little fare for very long journeys."

DAB party vice-chairman Holden Chow also supports the changes.

"We believe the scheme unveiled by the (financial secretary) today is acceptable. It strikes a balance between the [need for] financial sustainability, but at the same time, will look after the needs of the elderly," he said.

"The people who live further away from the city centre, including people in Tuen Mun or Tung Chung, they may actually be affected. I think going forward, we will try to explore with the government and see whether there's anything we could do to alleviate the pain of these people."