The government is considering a TPass version that is valid for short periods, and versions designed for international tourists and domestic businesspeople, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday.
The ministry unveiled the plan at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, at which it briefed lawmakers on the results of the monthly TPass program since it began in July last year.
The ministry said in a report to the committee that it is considering TPass plans that are valid for 14 or fewer days, adding that the Highway Bureau is seeking input on the proposal and has a trial period planned at the end of this year.
Photo courtesy of Easycard Corp
The ministry said that it is seeking additional funding from the Executive Yuan to continue the TPass program after 2026.
Minister of Transportation and Communications Li Meng-yen (李孟諺) said that the ministry is considering issuing five-day or seven-day TPass plans, which would be convenient for international visitors and domestic business travelers.
Having more diverse plans helps expand the user base, Li said.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Hsu Chih-chieh (許智傑) said that people with a TPass 2.0 plan should be allowed to use it to access tourist attractions.
Li said that he would ask the Highway Bureau and the Tourism Administration to study the idea.
The monthly pass program was launched in metropolitan areas across Taiwan to make commuting more convenient and boost public transportation use, the report said.
Local governments in each metropolitan area can roll out tailored TPass plans and determine the transportation systems they encompass, it said.
The TPass available in Taipei, New Taipei City, Keelung and Taoyuan costs NT$1,200, allowing unlimited access for 30 days to the metro, light-rail, city bus, Taiwan Railway, highway bus, public bike and ferry systems, it said.
Nineteen administrative regions have rolled out TPasses, with 24 plans among them, the report said.
Penghu County is to launch its own TPass next month, it said.
Another TPass plan covering commutes between Taipei and Yilan County is to be launched in September, it added.
As of last month, 7.68 million plans had been sold, with 574 million uses, ministry data showed.
Regarding other matters, Li said that the government welcomes Chinese tourists after Chinese travel service operators scouted travel routes in Lienchiang County (Matsu).
About 150 Chinese tourism officials and industry representatives are expected at the Summer Travel Expo in Taipei, which opens tomorrow, the largest tourism delegation from across the Taiwan Strait since the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We are looking forward to having Chinese visitors in Matsu,” Li said. “We hope this would start soon.”
Taiwan is more open to cross-strait tourism than China, he said.
About 1.7 million Taiwanese traveled to China last year, but only about 200,000 Chinese traveled to Taiwan, he said.
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
US PUBLICATION: The results indicated a change in attitude after a 2023 survey showed 55 percent supported full-scale war to achieve unification, the report said More than half of Chinese were against the use of force to unify with Taiwan under any circumstances, a survey conducted by the Atlanta, Georgia-based Carter Center and Emory University found. The survey results, which were released on Wednesday in a report titled “Sovereignty, Security, & US-China Relations: Chinese Public Opinion,” showed that 55.1 percent of respondents agreed or somewhat agreed that “the Taiwan problem should not be resolved using force under any circumstances,” while 24.5 percent “strongly” or “somewhat” disagreed with the statement. The results indicated a change in attitude after a survey published in “Assessing Public Support for (Non)Peaceful Unification
The CIA has a message for Chinese government officials worried about their place in Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) government: Come work with us. The agency released two Mandarin-language videos on social media on Thursday inviting disgruntled officials to contact the CIA. The recruitment videos posted on YouTube and X racked up more than 5 million views combined in their first day. The outreach comes as CIA Director John Ratcliffe has vowed to boost the agency’s use of intelligence from human sources and its focus on China, which has recently targeted US officials with its own espionage operations. The videos are “aimed at
Four former Hong Kong opposition lawmakers jailed in the territory’s largest national security case were released yesterday after more than four years in prison, the first among dozens convicted last year to regain their freedom. Former legislators Claudia Mo (毛孟靜), Jeremy Tam (譚文豪), Kwok Ka-ki (郭家麒) and Gary Fan (范國威) were part of a group of 47 public figures — including some of Hong Kong’s best-known democracy advocates — who were charged with subversion in 2021 for holding an informal primary election. The case fell under a National Security Law imposed on the territory by Beijng, and drew international condemnation and warnings
RSS