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Bus fares might rise, but don't hold your breath

"We understand that crude-oil prices are unstable, but we do hope that the bus companies can examine their working capital and delay any price-hike plan until it is unavoidable."

Wu Chyou-mei, Taipei City Department of Information vice director

In the face of skyrocketing crude-oil prices, Taipei's bus companies are agitating to raise bus fares.

Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday said the city government would not "rule out any eventuality," but he hoped that the companies would review their fare plans before bringing the issue before the city government.

"We understand that crude-oil prices are unstable, but we do hope that the bus companies can examine their working capital and delay any price-hike plan until it is unavoidable," Department of Information vice director Wu Chyou-mei (吳秋美) said on behalf of Ma after a meeting yesterday.

Freezing bus fares for eight years was one of Ma's campaign promises in the last mayoral election campaign. Although he would endeavor to keep that promise, Ma said that the transportation department would still discuss the issue with the companies.

Wu said that even if the city government agreed to a fare hike, implementation required a detailed review by two committees before approval.

The whole process would probably take at least six months before the companies could charge more, he said.

But other factors might help critics who think the companies should tolerate the current situation and hold off on raising fares.

The Taipei City Council passed a proposal in July that requires the city government to pay bus companies the fare differential for discounted tickets sold to the elderly, disabled passengers and students.

In addition, the state-run Chinese Petroleum Corp has increased the price for diesel by only NT$1.5 per liter in the last six months.

Chen Chiong-chong (陳瓊忠), secretary-general of the bus companies' association, said that while many bus companies were complaining about the current fares and calling for an increase, the union had not decided whether to present the proposal to the transportation department.
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