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Kaohsiung MRT proves big hit with public

Kaohsiung commuters yesterday look at clothes on display on a stationary escalator in a Kaohsiung MRT station. Local department stores see the newly opened MRT line as a business opportunity. PHOTO: TSAO MING-CHENG, TAIPEI TIMES

The daily passenger volume on the Kaohsiung City MRT hit 499,000 on Sunday, a spokesman for the Kaohsiung Rapid Transit Corp (KRTC) said yesterday.

Passengers took about 200,000 rides on the Red Line's opening day on March 9, while there were 270,000 riders last Friday and 420,000 on Saturday, KRTC statistics showed.

The system recorded more than 2.11 million rides for its first week of operations, officials said.

Huang I-chung (黃一中), director of the Kaohsiung City Government's Public Affairs Bureau said the number of passengers traveling on the system was increasing daily.

Huang thanked the public for their endorsement of the system and said the KRTC had not expected such an enthusiastic response to the free rides.

He said it had been difficult to cope with the rapidly escalating number of riders because of concerns over safety and quality of service. He urged the public to avoid squeezing into crowded metro cars for safety reasons.

Kaohsiung's second line, the Orange Line, will open next year.
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