Taiwan Railway Corp’s (TRC) board of directors yesterday approved a proposal to raise ticket prices by an average of 26.8 percent.
The new pricing scheme would be implemented if it secures final approval from the Executive Yuan, which would be followed by a public comment period of two months.
Transport Minister Chen Shih-kai (陳世凱) said the new fares could come into in effect as soon as the first half of the year.
Photo: CNA
The state-run railway operator said that this would be the first time in 30 years that it raises ticket prices.
Raising ticket prices is urgent and necessary, considering a 60.3 percent increase in the consumer price index and a 78.8 percent rise in the minimum wage in the past three decades, TRC deputy head of transportation operations Chen Jung-pin (陳榮彬) said at a news conference.
The company on Tuesday said that it had a record NT$13.79 billion (US$419.94 million) deficit last year.
“We want to ensure that the ticket price adjustment is acceptable to short-distance train commuters and maintains our competitive edge in the market for medium-distance travelers, while in the meantime not losing our long-distance customers,” Chen said.
The adjustment would not affect TPass users or those taking part in the frequent public transport user program, but the government’s subsidy to TRC for TPass users would rise by NT$280 million, the company said.
The company would adopt a system aiming to reward medium-to-long-distance passengers to prevent losing customers to the high-speed rail (HSR) system, Chen said.
The longer distance a passenger travels, the greater discount they would enjoy, he said, adding that people traveling more than 50km could receive discounts.
Following the price adjustment, a commuter train ticket from Taipei to New Taipei City’s Banciao District (板橋) would cost NT$22, compared with NT$25 on the Taipei MRT and NT$30 for a bus.
The ticket price for a Tze-Chiang Express train from Taipei to Taichung would be raised to NT$501, Chen said, adding that the same route by an HSR train would cost NT$700.
A Tze-Chiang Express train from Taipei to Xinzuoying (新左營) station in Kaohsiung would cost NT$975, compared with NT$1,490 for HSR, Chen said.
The company also vowed to raise the train punctuality rate from 93.1 percent last year to 97.5 percent this year and 97.7 percent next year.
It also said that it is committed to having no major railway accidents and casualties this year.
Meanwhile, the company said it aims to gradually increase its customer satisfaction rate from 82.8 percent last year to 84 percent next year.
TRC vice chairman Liu Shuang-huo (劉雙火) said that the price adjustment would only help the company have a return on investment of 0.36 percent.
The total revenue from passenger and cargo services is expected to increase by NT$5.47 billion, Lin said.
The company expects to make a profit of NT$738 million this year, he said, adding that the company took travelers into account and aimed to minimize the negative impact on them when adjusting the ticket prices.
Although the price adjustment would increase the cash flow the company needs to address safety and service quality issues, it would still have NT$5.446 billion in financial losses in accounting books, which would be covered by the company’s other sources of revenue, he added.
The company is confident that the ticket price adjustment would not scare away customers, as it has seen a small increase in short-distance travel and has conducted a survey to see how customers would react to price changes, he said.
The company is aiming to break even by 2028, he said, adding that it is obliged to review the ticket pricing scheme every two years.
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