The nation’s largest railway operator said yesterday that it has decided to raise processing fees for ticket cancellations to avoid the ticketing system being misused.
Statistics from the Taiwan Railway Administration (TRA) show that 15 percent of express train passengers cancel their tickets before the day they are scheduled to board the train.
The phenomenon means tickets are hard to get for some express trains, but there are many empty seats on the trains when they depart.
TRA Director-General Chou Yung-hui (周永暉) said that passengers are charged NT$13 for each canceled ticket. In the future, the processing fees would vary depending on when the passengers decide to cancel their tickets.
According to the TRA’s proposed change, passengers canceling tickets 12 to 13 days before the departure date would only be charged NT$10 per ticket. However, those choosing to do so three to 11 days before the scheduled date of travel would be charged NT$20 per ticket.
Chou said the processing fee would be equivalent to 10 percent of the ticket fare if passengers cancel their tickets less than two days before the date of travel, adding that the processing fee would be equivalent to 20 percent of the ticket price if the ticket is canceled on the day of travel.
An express train ticket from Taipei to Taitung, for example, costs NT$783. If a person chooses to cancel the ticket on the day of travel, the processing fee would be NT$157.
The TRA said it needs time to change the ticketing system, adding that the new scheme could become effective by mid-December.
Meanwhile, Minister of Transportation and Communications Yeh Kuang-shih (葉匡時) said the ministry is building a third-generation ticketing system for the TRA, adding the new ticketing system would offer different ticket prices for peak and non-peak hours.
Yeh said that fares have not been adjusted for 19 years, adding that he hoped the proposed change could be finalized by the first half of next year and could take effect in the latter half of next year.
Asked about the financial problems facing Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp (THSR), Yeh said the ministry is meeting with the five original shareholders in the company.
“We need to determine the percentage by which these shareholders need to reduce their capital investments. We also plan to ask them not to intervene when the company tries to raise capital later by allowing state-run companies or quasi-governmental companies to become shareholders. So far, the meetings with the original shareholders have been going well,” he said, without revealing further information.
The high-speed rail operator also said that it would seek restitution from Siemens, the manufacturer of the railway switches used in the high-speed rail system, as it has been confirmed recently that the micro switches inside the railway switches were flawed.
The flaw caused the railway switches to break down 67 times in the past seven years, disrupting operations.
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