Taxi fares in Taipei City will increase from Nov. 1, the city's Department of Transportation said yesterday.
From next month the current nighttime fare will apply around the clock, with the flag fall rate remaining at NT$70 for the first 1.25km, after which an additional NT$5 will be required for every 250m, down from the current 300m, officials said.
An additional NT$5 will also be required for every one minute and 40 seconds of waiting time.
Passengers will be required to pay NT$20 extra on metered fares between 11pm and 6am, the department said.
"It's been about seven years since the city's taxi fares were increased. With the recent increases in fuel prices, the city government and the taxi unions reached a consensus that it is time to raise the fee," Department of Transportation Commissioner Luo Shiaw-shyan (羅孝賢) said yesterday at Taipei City Hall.
During the Lunar New Year holidays, passengers will need to pay NT$20 extra, he said.
However, a NT$10 service fee for opening the trunk or telephone reservations will be canceled, as most taxi drivers do not charge such fees anyway, Luo said.
Taipei's taxi fares were last adjusted on Dec. 1, 2000. The city government considered raising the flag fall rate by as much as NT$25 last year, but in the end decided to reduce the vehicle license tax and fuel tax instead.
The government grants taxi drivers a subsidy of NT$2 per liter of fuel, up to a maximum of 550 liters per month.
The transportation department will issue 80,000 promotional stickers for taxi drivers to put on the windshields of their vehicles informing passengers about the new fares, Luo said.
The US government has signed defense cooperation agreements with Japan and the Philippines to boost the deterrence capabilities of countries in the first island chain, a report by the National Security Bureau (NSB) showed. The main countries on the first island chain include the two nations and Taiwan. The bureau is to present the report at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee tomorrow. The US military has deployed Typhon missile systems to Japan’s Yamaguchi Prefecture and Zambales province in the Philippines during their joint military exercises. It has also installed NMESIS anti-ship systems in Japan’s Okinawa
‘WIN-WIN’: The Philippines, and central and eastern European countries are important potential drone cooperation partners, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung said Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) in an interview published yesterday confirmed that there are joint ventures between Taiwan and Poland in the drone industry. Lin made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper). The government-backed Taiwan Excellence Drone International Business Opportunities Alliance and the Polish Chamber of Unmanned Systems on Wednesday last week signed a memorandum of understanding in Poland to develop a “non-China” supply chain for drones and work together on key technologies. Asked if Taiwan prioritized Poland among central and eastern European countries in drone collaboration, Lin
ON ALERT: Taiwan’s partners would issue warnings if China attempted to use Interpol to target Taiwanese, and the global body has mechanisms to prevent it, an official said China has stationed two to four people specializing in Taiwan affairs at its embassies in several democratic countries to monitor and harass Taiwanese, actions that the host nations would not tolerate, National Security Bureau (NSB) Director-General Tsai Ming-yen (蔡明彥) said yesterday. Tsai made the comments at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, which asked him and Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) to report on potential conflicts in the Taiwan Strait and military preparedness. Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) expressed concern that Beijing has posted personnel from China’s Taiwan Affairs Office to its
BACK TO WORK? Prosecutors said they are considering filing an appeal, while the Hsinchu City Government said it has applied for Ann Kao’s reinstatement as mayor The High Court yesterday found suspended Hsinchu mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) not guilty of embezzling assistant fees, reducing her sentence to six months in prison commutable to a fine from seven years and four months. The verdict acquitted Kao of the corruption charge, but found her guilty of causing a public official to commit document forgery. The High Prosecutors’ Office said it is reviewing the ruling and considering whether to file an appeal. The Taipei District Court in July last year sentenced Kao to seven years and four months in prison, along with a four-year deprivation of civil rights, for contravening the Anti-Corruption
RSS