The main English paper in Hong Kong carried an editorial on Friday from a fellow Hongkonger named Jessica, who opposes looming fare hikes averaging 5.4 percent on the Mass Transit Railway or MTR (that's subway to most of you others, and the Tube or Underground to the Brits).
She writes, "Prices in Hong Kong are increasing because of inflation, so the cost of food, clothes and even electricity is going up. Given these extra financial burdens, the MTR Corp should not have been allowed to increase fares."
Jessica and many others don't seem to realize that rising inflation bears down on companies like the MTR as well, as wage demands, power costs and the cost of materials rise.
Indeed, last month legislators unanimously urged the operator to cancel the fare increase. Labor constituency lawmaker Ip Wai Ming accused the MTRC of being greedy after reporting net profits of $1.9 billion last year, 22 percent higher than 2010. "The MTRC asks for a fare rise despite its hefty profit, but we do not see a similar increase in our wages. This is daylight robbery".
If this is robbery, pick my pockets any day.
The costliest journey on the main network (aside from the high speed train to the airport, and the trains to China) is around $3. Try getting a train in the U.S., Canada or Europe to anywhere for that price.
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