The government aims to raise about NT$2.6 billion (US$83.56 million) per year to boost the use of public transportation nationwide, Minister of Transportation and Communications Wang Kwo-tsai (王國材) said yesterday.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei mayoral candidate Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), New Taipei City mayoral candidate Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍), Keelung mayoral candidate Tsai Shih-ying (蔡適應) and Taoyuan mayoral candidate Cheng Yun-peng (鄭運鵬) on Tuesday last week jointly proposed the introduction of a pass that would allow commuters in the four cities to access the Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) system, city bus system, freeway bus system, MRT railway system and the YouBike service for NT$1,200 per month.
The four candidates said they would fund their proposal by requesting an annual budget of about NT$3.5 billion from the central government.
Photo: CNA
The proposal, which was widely criticized as a tactic to attract votes, came under scrutiny at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, which was scheduled to review the budget plans for the TRA, Railway Bureau, Taiwan Transportation Safety Board and Freeway Construction Fund.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) said that he had proposed in a committee meeting on Nov. 2 to issue a similar monthly pass for NT$1,280.
Wang said that the issue falls under the purview of local government officials, but promised to help realize the plan.
However, Hung said that Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) had said that he would be glad to see the proposal from the four DPP candidates realized, and asked the Ministry of Transportation and Communications to encourage the use of public transportation systems by offering subsidies.
“Government officials should not implement a policy just to fulfill a campaign promise made by certain candidates,” he said.
Wang told Hung that subsidies are used to boost the overall use of public transportation systems nationwide, and the funding would not be distributed only to Keelung, New Taipei City, Taipei and Taoyuan.
“In the past, the government mainly subsidized public transportation operators for offering services in rural or remote areas, or funded local governments for public transport projects. However, Taiwan’s overall public transportation usage rate did not rise significantly over the years,” Wang told reporters on the sidelines of the committee meeting.
“The Executive Yuan offers very clear guidance this time: raising the public transportation usage rate through a national subsidy program. This would also help Taiwan reach its net zero carbon emission goal by 2025 and reduce casualties caused by traffic accidents,” he said.
The ministry’s preliminary plan is for financially sound cities and counties to receive less in subsidies, while Miaoli, Chiayi and other counties that have been struggling financially would receive more, Wang said, adding that local governments must pay their fair share toward the program as well.
“The four candidates proposed to use a monthly pass to increase the public transportation usage rate, which requires funding of NT$3.5 billion per year. Other cities and counties must propose plans to boost the usage rate to obtain subsidies as well,” he said.
The estimated budget for the national public transportation subsidy program is about NT$5.25 billion, with the central government paying at least NT$2.6 billion, Wang said, adding that the ministry is discussing with the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics where to source funding for the program.
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