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.
Taiwanese Olympic badminton men’s doubles gold medalist Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) and his new partner, Chiu Hsiang-chieh (邱相榤), clinched the men’s doubles title at the Yonex Taipei Open yesterday, becoming the second Taiwanese team to win a title in the tournament. Ranked 19th in the world, the Taiwanese duo defeated Kang Min-hyuk and Ki Dong-ju of South Korea 21-18, 21-15 in a pulsating 43-minute final to clinch their first doubles title after teaming up last year. Wang, the men’s doubles gold medalist at the 2020 and 2024 Olympics, partnered with Chiu in August last year after the retirement of his teammate Lee Yang
FALSE DOCUMENTS? Actor William Liao said he was ‘voluntarily cooperating’ with police after a suspect was accused of helping to produce false medical certificates Police yesterday questioned at least six entertainers amid allegations of evasion of compulsory military service, with Lee Chuan (李銓), a member of boy band Choc7 (超克7), and actor Daniel Chen (陳大天) among those summoned. The New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office in January launched an investigation into a group that was allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified medical documents. Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) has been accused of being one of the group’s clients. As the investigation expanded, investigators at New Taipei City’s Yonghe Precinct said that other entertainers commissioned the group to obtain false documents. The main suspect, a man surnamed
US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer began talks with high-ranking Chinese officials in Switzerland yesterday aiming to de-escalate a dispute that threatens to cut off trade between the world’s two biggest economies and damage the global economy. The US delegation has begun meetings in Geneva with a Chinese delegation led by Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng (何立峰), Xinhua News Agency said. Diplomats from both sides also confirmed that the talks have begun, but spoke anonymously and the exact location of the talks was not made public. Prospects for a major breakthrough appear dim, but there is
The number of births in Taiwan fell to an all-time monthly low last month, while the population declined for the 16th consecutive month, Ministry of the Interior data released on Friday showed. The number of newborns totaled 8,684, which is 704 births fewer than in March and the lowest monthly figure on record, the ministry said. That is equivalent to roughly one baby born every five minutes and an annual crude birthrate of 4.52 per 1,000 people, the ministry added. Meanwhile, 17,205 deaths were recorded, resulting in a natural population decrease of 8,521, the data showed. More people are also leaving Taiwan, with net
RSS