Minister of Transportation and Communications Yeh Kuang-shih (葉匡時) said yesterday that the ministry is scheduled to raise the ticket price of the Puyuma Express and Taroko Express by 3 to 9 percent, and fares for east coast trains are to be based on departure times and the speed of the service.
Yeh made the announcement during an interview aired on Taipei’s Pop Radio Station in response to an inquiry about the ministry’s plans to meet the high demand for the Taiwan Railways Administration’s (TRA) east coast train services.
“We are considering raising ticket prices in peak hours and lowering prices in off-peak hours,” Yeh said. “We are also considering setting prices based on the speed of the service. A ticket for the Puyuma Express costs the same as that for the Tzuchiang-Class Express train, even though the former runs faster than latter. The ticket price for these two services should be different.”
Currently, passengers traveling between Taipei and Taitung on a Puyuma Express have to pay NT$783 for one-way tickets.
Consumers need incentives to be willing to take trains leaving at off-peak hours or to choose train services other than Puyuma Express, he said.
He said that the ministry would probably consider raising the ticket price of the Puyuma Express by 3 to 9 percent. In the meantime, he said that those taking Tzuchiang-Class Express trains would be able to pay less for a train service that is only slightly slower.
“If we can lower the price of Tzuchiang-Class trains by more than 10 percent and shorten the travel time from 5 hours and 30 minutes to 4 hours and 30 minutes, people would be more willing to accept the alternative,” he said.
Yeh added that the ministry would take other factors into consideration before making a formal announcement on its proposals, which are expected this month or the beginning of next year.
In related news, the ministry said that the cap on public bus ticket prices could be dropped by about 2.2 percent due to lower oil prices.
Though freeway bus operators have yet to reach the threshold, many of them have announced they plan to lower ticket prices for middle-to-long distance journeys to reflect cheaper fuel costs.
Passengers on public buses or freeway buses would see a reduction in ticket prices next month, the ministry said.
Meanwhile, the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) said that it has asked domestic airlines to expand off-peak discount schemes for early-bird buyers so that people are able to enjoy the benefits of lower oil prices.
Air Transport Division Deputy Director Han Chen-hua (韓振華) said that the 30 percent discount scheme, which was to expire this month, is to be extended to the end of next month.
Currently, about 20 percent of early-bird off-peak tickets are offered at a 30 percent discount or less.
Han said that the administration asked specifically that half of them be provided at 35 percent or 50 percent discounts, adding that the discount tickets are to be available for purchase on Monday next week.
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