The suspension of tolls on national highways, and reduced train and bus fares are to be in effect during the Lunar New Year holiday to ease congestion, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday.
Tolls on national highways are to be lifted from 11pm to 6am between Friday next week and Feb. 1, while fares for long-distance buses and late-night trains will be reduced during the holidays, the ministry said.
The ministry has asked bus operators not to increase fares during the holidays, while passengers are to receive a 15 percent discount on fares for buses that operate on a route of more than 100km.
The discount is available from 11pm on Thursday next week to 11pm on Feb. 1.
The Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) is to provide late-night train services between Taipei and Hualien and in Taitung, the ministry said, adding that passengers boarding those “red eye” trains will receive a 30 percent discount on fares.
Peak traffic is expected on Friday, Saturday and Sunday next week, as well as on Feb. 1, which is about the entire holiday, Department of Railways and Highways Director Lin Chi-guo (林繼國) said.
Train services will increase by 13 percent and high-speed rail services by 29 percent during the holiday, the ministry said.
Airline companies will be asked to increase flights between Taiwan proper and outlying islands when necessary to reduce the impact of the closure of TransAsia Airways, it added.
The ministry urged the public to use public transportation during the holiday and refrain from short-distance travel on freeways to avoid traffic jams, while encouraging people driving long-distances to use Formosa Freeway (Freeway No. 3).
“Traffic is expected to be heavier than last year, because the Lunar New Year holiday is shorter this year,” Deputy Minister of Transportation and Communications Wang Kwo-tsai (王國材) said.
People can visit the ministry’s Web sites to obtain real-time traffic information, Wang said.
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