The Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) plans to raise the minimum liability insurance payment to passengers who are injured or killed on the nation's MRT networks from NT$1.4 million (US$43,500) to NT$1.5 million per person.
Hsu Chun-yi (
The ministry aims for the new policy to take effect next month.
He said the ministry had reviewed the current compensation standards for claims stemming from injuries or passenger deaths, and found the amount to be insufficient.
After examining the liability insurance payment levels for railways and motor vehicles, MOTC specialists suggested increasing the payment to NT$1.5 million per passenger, he said.
Until the change takes effect, the standard will be determined based on the MRT Law (大眾捷運法), which currently only applies to the Taipei MRT System.
Hsu said that the amendment would also allow the standard to be applied to other MRT systems, including the Kaohsiung MRT system, the Airport Rail and the Taichung MRT system.
The Kaohsiung MRT system is set to go into operation soon, with the ministry expected to complete inspections of the system this year.
The Airport Rail is under construction and the Taichung system has yet to be built.
Hsu said that the figure of NT$1.5 million was merely a minimum requirement.
Each system could increase individual payments depending on circumstances, he said.
The ministry also plans to streamline procedures for disabled passengers when purchasing discounted tickets for public transportation systems.
Currently, disabled passengers are required to fill in an application form before they can purchase tickets at reduced rates.
Hsu said the procedure was time-consuming and caused inconvenience to people with poor vision.
According to the ministry's plan, disabled passengers would only need to present their disability certificates. Operators of public transportation systems would be obligated to fill in the applications on behalf of the disabled passengers.
The regulation is expected to be promulgated on Monday and is scheduled to be implemented on Wednesday, Lunar New Year's Eve.
In related news, the Taiwan Area National Freeway Bureau said yesterday that the price of the on-board unit (OBU) used by the freeway electronic toll collection system would be set at NT$1,199.
The Far Eastern Electronic Toll Collection Co (FETC), the contractor operating the electronic toll collection system, had proposed a sale price of NT$1,249.
Wu Mu-fu (
While the consulting firm found that the price was "fairly reasonable," it suggested that the FETC negotiate with its supplier about the price of some key OBU components, Wu said.
"It's their responsibility to work things out with their supplier," he said.
Motorists can still purchase OBUs at a reduced price of NT$680 until the end of this month.
Taiwan yesterday expelled four China Coast Guard vessels that entered Taiwan-controlled restricted waters off Lienchiang County (Matsu) shortly after the Chinese People’s Liberation Army announced the start of its “Joint Sword-2024B” drills around Taiwan. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said in a statement that it had detected two China Coast Guard ships west of Nangan Island (南竿) and another two north of Dongyin Island (東引) at 8am yesterday. After Chinese ships sailed into restricted waters off Matsu shortly afterward, the CGA’s Kinmen-Matsu-Penghu Branch deployed four patrol vessels to shadow and approach the vessels, it said. The incidents pushed up to 44 the number
Renovations on the B3 concourse of Taipei Main Station are to begin on Nov. 1, with travelers advised to use entrances near the Taiwan Railway or high-speed rail platforms or information counter to access the MRT’s Red Line. Construction is to be completed before the end of next year, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp said last week. To reduce the impact on travelers, the NT$95 million (US$2.95 million) project is to be completed in four stages, it said. In the first stage, the hall leading to the Blue Line near the art exhibition area is to be closed from Nov. 1 to the end
The government has issued a deportation order for a Spanish fugitive, ordering him to leave the country within 10 days, as he is wanted by European authorities for allegedly operating a car rental scam. National Immigration Agency (NIA) officials yesterday said Salvador Alejandro Llinas Onate, 48, had been notified that he must leave Taiwan, as he was wanted for committing serious crimes. The Spaniard has been indicted by Italian prosecutors for allegedly leading a 30 million euros (US$32.74 million) car rental scam and setting up a fraudulent company in Trento, Italy. The deportation order is based on Article 18 of
Taipei’s Ximending (西門町) shopping area welcomed the most international visitors, followed by Taipei 101, Songshan Cultural and Creative Park and Yangmingshan National Park (陽明山國家公園), a list of the city’s most popular tourist attractions published by the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism showed. As of August, 69.22 million people had visited Taipei’s main tourism spots, a 76 percent increase from 39.33 million in the same period last year, department data showed. Ximending had 20.21 million visitors, followed by Taipei 101 at 8.09 million, Songshan Cultural and Creative Park at 6.28 million, Yangmingshan at 4.51 million and the Red House Theater (西門紅樓) in
RSS