Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food Dr York Chow said at a meeting with the Disability Alliance on Concessionary Transport Fare today that he supported discount fares for people with disabilities.

His bureau will set up a working group to assess the number of beneficiaries to help the Government and public transport operators continue their discussions on concessionary transport fares.

Meanwhile, a new registration card for people with disabilities will be launched in the first quarter of next year to increase the reliability of the card as an identification document.

The Health, Welfare and Food Bureau said the new card will replace the 39,000 old cards already issued to people with disabilities since 1999.

Printed on security paper, the new card includes the holder's recent photograph and an expiry date (for applicants whose disability is not permanent). The card also contains information such as the type of disability and, in the case of multiple disabilities, all disability types.

The Transport Department had sent samples of the new card to transport operators for reference.