Taipei and New Taipei City yesterday announced that a one-month “all-pass” ticket for unlimited public transportation rides is to launch on April 16.
For NT$1,280 (US$43.72), a pass holder could make unlimited use of Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) trains, buses and YouBikes in the two municipalities during the 30-day period.
Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) and New Taipei City Mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫) yesterday made the announcement at Daan Forest Park MRT station.
The public transportation infrastructure in Taipei is of good quality, Ko said, adding that he has taken the bus to work every day since October last year, but the city’s residents seem to be unimpressed, as the public transportation usage rate is only about 42 percent.
The usage rate in New Taipei City is 33 to 34 percent, “but we hope to raise the percentage to more than 40 percent in both cities,” Chu said, adding that they hope the pass would encourage more commuters to use public transit and help reduce air pollution.
The pass is the first in a series of policies aimed at improving traffic in Taipei, Ko said, adding that the next step is to rearrange bus routes.
Chu said the two municipalities would share a NT$940 million cost differential subsidy for the operation of the services provided by the pass.
The subsidy sharing ratio of 5.6-3.8 (Taipei City-New Taipei City) was calculated according to the passenger capacity of each city, Ko said, adding that he expects the New Taipei City Government’s percentage to gradually increase.
The pass goes on sale today and can be purchased with EasyCards, EasyCard-credit cards or EasyCard-debit cards at MRT stations.
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