Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp’s (THSRC) board of directors yesterday evening passed a proposal to raise ticket prices, with passengers expected to start paying more for high-speed rail tickets beginning in October.
The high-speed rail contractor decided to adjust its ticket prices based on the terms of its build-operate-transfer (BOT) contract with the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC), allowing the company to raise prices if there is an increase in operational costs.
The decision passed at the meeting of the board of directors will have to be submitted to the MOTC for future reference. The company is obligated to display a notice announcing the ticket price adjustment for one month after completing all the procedures required by the MOTC.
Ministry of Transportation and Communications Minister Yeh Kuang-shih (葉匡時) said the company had the right to raise the ticket price based on the BOT contract, adding that the ministry had told the company to lower the impact of the price adjustment on consumers.
The ministry respected the decision made by the company’s board of directors, he said.
Prior to launch of the high-speed rail, the ministry approved the basic rate of high-speed rail travel to be NT$3.655 per passenger-kilometer.
In 2009, the ministry approved an increase in the basic rate to NT$3.875 per passenger-kilometer.
However, the company did not change the ticket prices at that time because the nation was suffering from the economic recession caused by the financial meltdown on Wall Street.
This year, the ministry agreed to a raise in the basic rate to NT$4.009 per passenger-kilometer.
The contract states that the company is entitled to increase the ministry-approved rate by up to 20 percent.
The company’s board directors decided to set the basic rate at NT$4.8108 per passenger-kilometer.
Under the new basic rate, ticket prices for high-speed rail travel are to increase by 9.69 percent. Round-trip tickets between Taipei and Greater Kaohsiung would increase by NT$280.
Fast food chain McDonald's is to raise prices by up to NT$5 on some products at its restaurants across Taiwan, starting on Wednesday next week, the company announced today. The prices of all extra value meals and sharing boxes are to increase by NT$5, while breakfast combos and creamy corn soup would go up by NT$3, the company said in a statement. The price of the main items of those meals, if ordered individually, would remain the same. Meanwhile, the price of a medium-sized lemon iced tea and hot cappuccino would rise by NT$3, extra dipping sauces for chicken nuggets would go up
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) arrived in Taiwan yesterday ahead of upcoming AI and technology events, saying he plans to meet with clients and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) during his visit. After landing at Taipei Songshan Airport, Huang posed for photos with fans and handed out Yakult drinks to reporters and supporters waiting at the scene, saying he has “a lot to do” during the trip. Asked about reports that Nvidia’s planned headquarters site in Taipei’s Beitou Shilin Technology Park could break ground on May 27, Huang said that if the company holds an event, he would
FUKUOKA SITUATION: Japanese media reported that the pathogen is expected to be identified by the summer, while the CDC downplayed the idea that it was hMPV A “mysterious cold-like illness” reported in Japan’s Fukuoka Prefecture does not seem to be a new disease, but Japanese authorities have been asked about the situation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. The Fukuoka Prefectural Medical Association on Wednesday told a news conference that a “mystery cold” that has become a hot topic on social media is “highly likely to be caused by some kind of viral infection,” Japan’s KBC News reported. “Many people are experiencing symptoms starting with a sore throat, followed by a runny nose, phlegm and a severe cough,” KBC News reported, citing association officials. Health authorities are
Carrefour Taiwan is to begin using a new name from the start of July, but it cannot divulge the name until then, the chairman of the supermarket chain's parent company said today. President Chain Store Co chairman Lo Chih-hsien (羅智先) was asked by reporters after a shareholders' meeting to confirm whether the company has settled on a new name for the supermarket brand. In March, the government-registered name of two Carrefour Taiwan branches was quietly changed to "Le Chia Kang" (樂家康) in Chinese, raising speculation that has been selected as the name. Lo said that because of local regulations and contractual obligations, the
RSS