Taipei approves taxi cab fare hike

The Taipei City Government yesterday approved a 12.5 percent raise in Taipei taxi fares, but officials said the new fee system may not be implemented until December.

Chen Chin-sheng (陳金盛), secretary-general of the city's Bureau of Transportation (交通局), yesterday told reporters after the weekly closed-door city affairs meeting that the new policy still required more time before it be implemented.

"It may take at least a month for the meter manufacturers to come up with the reprogrammed integrated circuit (IC) chip and a new meter," he said. "The Bureau of Standards, Metrology and Inspection (BSMI, 標準檢驗局) also needs time to examine the new products and issue certificates before they officially go into mass production."

Once the product is on the market, Chen said, taxi drivers will then have to either install the new chip or replace the entire meter.

"We suspect it may take at least six more months to complete the entire process," he said.

According to Chen, Taipei City has a total of roughly 36,000 taxi cabs, about 20 percent of which are equipped with old meters which will need replacement after the new system takes effect, while the remaining cabs will need to replace only the IC chip.

Installing the new chip may cost about NT$1,000 and replacing the meter may cost between NT$5,000 and NT$6,000 Chen said.

As well as the 36,000 cabs based in the city, around 33,000 more regularly carry passengers from Taipei County and Keelung into the city. Since the new system will apply also to Taipei County and Keelung City, the regulations double the number of cabs that must be inspected.

"BSMI's two inspection centers in Shihlin and Shulin have to take care of about 70,000 taxicabs. To help expedite the process, we plan to borrow the parking lot next to the Taipei City Zoo as a temporary inspection center," Chen said.

In the meantime, however, copies of tables comparing the new fare structure with the old will be made available for the convenience of the taxi drivers and the public, Chen said.

The 12.5 percent price hike did not come as a surprise since the Highway Law (公路法) stipulates that public transport fares need to be reviewed every two years and necessary adjustments made in accordance with changing operational costs. It has been over two years since taxi fares were last raised, on Aug. 15, 1998.

Under the new system, the fee will be set at NT$70 for the first 1,500m and an additional NT$5 added for every 300m.

While the vehicle is running below 5kph, a fee of NT$5 per two minutes will be due. A 20 percent additional charge will be added between 11pm and 6am.

During the Chinese New Year holidays, from two days before New Year's Eve until the last day of the holiday, additional charges will take effect. A 20 percent additional fee will be charged during the day, on top of which a further fee of NT$20 will be charged between 11pm and 6am. An additional NT$10 will be added if the passenger requests to use the trunk at any time during Chinese New Year.

The new system will be applied not only to Taipei City, but also Taipei County and Keelung City in a bid to eliminate any possible confusion.

"We would really hate to see the new fare system creating trouble for taxi drivers who have to do business between Taipei City and other cities and counties," he said.