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.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it