The Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) released a survey yesterday that showed that close to 60 percent of the population have neither taken the high speed rail nor felt the need to take it.
The results showed that 78 percent of adults aged 20 and above have not taken the high speed rail. Among them, nearly 76 percent of them said they do not need to use it.
Su Yuan-chiung (蘇媛瓊), chief of the ministry's statistics department, said that the public was also divided on perceptions of the ticket prices for the high speed rail.
While about 45 percent of those surveyed said the current prices were reasonable, close to 50 percent said that the scheme was unreasonable, she said.
For those who have taken the high speed rail, approximately 44 percent would choose not to take it again because it increases their travel expenses, she said.
Besides the low demand, those who have not taken the high speed rail cited other reasons. Around 13 percent said it was a hassle to travel to the nearest high speed rail station and 7 percent said the ticket prices were too expensive.
The survey was conducted between Sept. 17 and Sept. 28, when computer-assisted telephone interviews were administered, collecting 1,713 valid samples around the nation. The data was analyzed with a confidence level of 95 percent.
The survey also produced other significant results. Overall, around 45 percent of the population used automobiles to travel to the high speed rail stations. Upon arrival, close to 30 percent said they had asked someone to pick them up.
The results showed that males, the educated, government workers and those with a monthly salary of NT$200,000 or above were most likely to take the high speed rail.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck Kaohsiung at 1pm today, the Central Weather Administration said. The epicenter was in Jiasian District (甲仙), 72.1km north-northeast of Kaohsiung City Hall, at a depth of 7.8km, agency data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in Kaohsiung and Tainan, where it measured a 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale. It also measured a 3 in parts of Chiayi City, as well as Pingtung, Yunlin and Hualien counties, data showed.
Nearly 5 million people have signed up to receive the government’s NT$10,000 (US$322) universal cash handout since registration opened on Wednesday last week, with deposits expected to begin tomorrow, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. After a staggered sign-up last week — based on the final digit of the applicant’s national ID or Alien Resident Certificate number — online registration is open to all eligible Taiwanese nationals, foreign permanent residents and spouses of Taiwanese nationals. Banks are expected to start issuing deposits from 6pm today, the ministry said. Those who completed registration by yesterday are expected to receive their NT$10,000 tomorrow, National Treasury
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