The Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) yesterday said it will reveal ticket fare adjustments for the Taiwan Railways Administration’s (TRA) services next year.
Minister of Transportation and Communications Hochen Tan (賀陳旦) was to brief the lawmakers at the legislature’s Transportation Committee on the TRA’s plans to purchase new train carriages and reform the railway operator’s ticketing system.
The plan to purchase new train carriages is expected to cost about NT$100 billion (US$3.3 billion).
However, the lawmakers questioned Hochen about a report published yesterday by the Chinese-language China Times that the TRA has proposed the ministry to adjust ticket prices.
The report said passengers using EasyCards, iPass or other electronic tickets would be targeted in the initial stage, with their discount to be cut from 10 percent to 5 percent.
About 400,000 people would be affected by the resulting price hike, the report added.
“The railway operator had submitted similar plans in the past, which were mainly designed to reflect the rise in its operational costs over the past 22 years. However, the situation has undergone dramatic changes in the past two decades, as the TRA coexists with high-speed rail and MRT systems. We cannot simply adjust ticket prices to reflect the increase in operational costs. We have to consider passengers’ habits. Frequent users, for example, can be given greater discounts,” Hochen said.
The ministry has formed a panel of experts to review the ticket price adjustment scheme proposed by the TRA, Hochen said, adding that there are conditions to be met before a hike is possible.
“We have to make sure that electronic ticket holders are given discounts when they transfer from the TRA to other public transport systems. The railway operator also needs to improve the quality of its ticketing services. If these two conditions are met, the plan to adjust the ticket prices could proceed with a reasonable expectation for a rise in service quality,” he said.
Following a discussion among the panelists, the ministry would decide on the final version of the scheme before submitting it to the Executive Yuan, Hochen said, adding that the process would not be completed until next year.
TRA Director-General Jason Lu (鹿潔身) said that the process would take about another five months.
After the Executive Yuan approves the scheme, the railway operator would have to update the ticketing system to sell tickets at the new rates, Lu said, adding that the TRA staff would have to be trained to access the new ticketing system.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators Lee Kun-tse (李昆澤) and Lin Chun-hsien (林俊憲) said while the TRA should be allowed to raise its ticket prices, which have remained unchanged for 22 years, the railway operator should improve its services first.
For example, TRA passengers can print QR code tickets at convenience stores, but the TRA’s automatic gates only admit passengers holding electronic tickets or hard-copy tickets issued at railway stations or post offices, because the gates are not equipped to scan QR codes, Lin said.
Independent Legislator Chao Cheng-yu (趙正宇) asked the ministry to scrutinize the price hike plan, as the nation could face simultaneous hikes in postage and airport service fees, as well as railway ticket prices.
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