LAST Sunday, at a train station, I realised that my son, who is in Primary 1, had left his child ez-link card at home.
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I thought that we could simply buy a child single-trip ticket for him. I was wrong, as the ticket machines only issue adult single-trip tickets.
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When we approached the station's staff for help, the answer was yes, my son needed an adult ticket.
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The reason? He is 1.1m tall — over the "official" height of 0.9m (children up to this height and accompanied by a fare-paying commuter may travel free).
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Such a policy is unfair. What happens when a child loses his or her card and does not have enough money to buy an adult ticket? Will they be left standing at the gates?
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And why is the ticket office able to sell child stored-value cards but not child single-trip tickets? The company, EZ-Link, may say there are costs involved. If so, it could make child single-trip tickets available with a deposit built in — similar to adult single-trip tickets.
