A monthly mass transit pass for commuters in Taipei, Taoyuan, Keelung and New Taipei City is to go on sale for NT$1,200 (US$39.47) starting in July after the Executive Yuan yesterday approved a Ministry of Transportation and Communications plan to promote the use of public transportation nationwide.
Meanwhile, Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) announced that the city would offer two types of monthly passes for commuters.
People traveling within Kaohsiung can from April 1 purchase a monthly pass for NT$399, while those commuting between Tainan, Kaohsiung and Pingtung County can from July 1 purchase a monthly pass for NT$999.
Photo: Chen Hsin-yu, Taipei Times
Kaohsiung commuters who help reduce carbon emissions by 6 tonnes per year by using the public transportation system would be rewarded with a free monthly pass, the Kaohsiung City Government said.
The NT$20 billion funding for the nationwide monthly pass program would be sourced from last year’s NT$380 billion surplus tax revenue, the ministry said.
The program has three large commuter circles: Taipei, Taoyuan, Keelung and New Taipei City in the north; Taichung, and Changhua and Nantou counties in the center; and Tainan, Kaohsiung and Pingtung County in the south.
A monthly pass would give commuters unlimited access to public buses, shared bicycles, light rail, mass rapid transit (MRT) or Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) systems within its respective circle for 30 days.
The central and southern systems would offer separate inner-city and intercity passes, instead of a single pass for a fixed price, the ministry said.
Cities and counties that do not fall inside any of the commuters’ circles can offer a monthly pass at a fixed price, or offer inner-city and intercity monthly passes, it said.
The ministry said it would design monthly pass cards for the commuters’ circles to distinguish them from other electronic tickets, adding that monthly passes would be issued by local governments.
The cost of producing the cards would be paid entirely by the central government, it said.
The program would subsidize 50 percent of the fares for city buses, MRT and public bike systems in the six special municipalities, and 75 percent of the fares in other municipalities, the ministry said.
Ninety percent of the fares for TRA and highway bus services would also be covered by the program, it said.
The program would also pay for adjustment to card-reading systems to accept monthly passes, the ministry said.
The funding is to be allocated over a three-year period: NT$2 billion this year, NT$9 billion next year and NT$9 billion in 2025, the ministry said.
The Executive Yuan also approved a budget for an extra NT$2.1 billion to enhance shuttle bus services to tourist attractions. The budget would be spent over three years: NT$550 million this year, NT$750 million next year and NT$800 million in 2025.
“When soliciting input for the monthly pass program, some local government officials said the public transportation system is lacking in their cities or counties,” Directorate-General of Highways Director-General Chen Wen-ruey (陳文瑞) said.
“We have also allocated NT$24.5 billion to upgrade public transportation services nationwide from 2021 to 2024,” Chen said.
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