Starting next Friday, commuters between Taipei and Shulin (樹林) can board any Taiwan Railway Administration (TRA) train with their Taipei MRT EasyCard.
Passengers will be charged the ticket price of a commuter train.
The administration has installed card sensors near the entry and the exit gates at the Taipei, Wanhua (萬華), Banciao (板橋) and Shulin stations. Commuters will also be able to add value to their Easy Cards at machines in the stations.
Technical crews will be on hand in case any problems with the ticketing system arise.
Those commuting from Taipei to locations south of Shulin, such as Yingge (鶯歌) or Taoyuan, will not be permitted to pay for the trip between Taipei and Shulin with an EasyCard and complement it with a TRA ticket for the remainder of the journey.
The TRA said the new measure was a trial period and the first stage of its project. The second stage is scheduled for August, when the same payment rules will apply to 14 stations between Keelung and Jhongli (中壢).
The TRA said the changes were made to meet the Ministry of Transportation and Communications’ policy to promote “one-card” electronic ticketing that allows passengers to transfer more easily between different modes of transportation.
Around 120,000 persons commute daily on TRA trains between Keelung and Jhongli.
TRA Deputy Director-General Chang Ying-huei (張應輝) said the measure would mainly benefit passengers who switch to the TRA train service after taking the Taipei MRT System.
In the second phase of the plan the administration will give discounts to passengers who pay with their EasyCard, although the percentage of the discount has not been decided, Chang said.
The administration had planned to implement the measure in April, but postponed it because of unresolved issues with the Taipei Smart Card Corp (TSCC).
Chang said that the TRA would eventually have its own smart card system that will be compatible with the cards used by other mass transportation systems. In Taoyuan, Hsinchu, Miaoli, Taichung, Changhua and Nantou the Taiwan Easy Go card is used for public transportation, while the TaiwanMoney Card System is used in Kaohsiung and six other counties in the south.
Former MOTC minister Tsai Duei had vowed to integrate the card systems by the end of this year.
CARGO LOSS: About 50 containers at the stern of the ‘Ever Lunar’ cargo ship went overboard, prompting the temporary closure of the port and disrupting operations Evergreen Marine Corp, Taiwan’s largest container shipper, yesterday said that all crew members aboard the Ever Lunar (長月) were safe after dozens of containers fell overboard off the coast of Peru the previous day. The incident occurred at 9:40am on Friday as the Ever Lunar was anchored and waiting to enter the Port of Callao when it suddenly experienced severe rolling, Evergreen said in a statement. The rolling, which caused the containers to fall, might have been caused by factors including a tsunami triggered by an earthquake in Russia, poor winter sea conditions in South America or a sudden influx of waves,
The Ministry of Culture yesterday officially launched the “We TAIWAN” cultural program on Osaka’s Nakanoshima sandbank, with the program’s mascot receiving overwhelming popularity. The cultural program, which runs from Aug. 2 to 20, was designed to partner with and capitalize on the 2025 World Expo that is being held in Osaka, Japan, from April 13 to Oct. 13, the ministry said. On the first day of the cultural program, its mascot, a green creature named “a-We,” proved to be extremely popular, as its merch was immediately in high demand. Long lines formed yesterday for the opening
The Taipei Summer Festival is to begin tomorrow at Dadaocheng Wharf (大稻埕), featuring four themed firework shows and five live music performances throughout the month, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said today. The festival in the city’s Datong District (大同) is to run until Aug. 30, holding firework displays on Wednesdays and the final Saturday of the event. The first show is scheduled for tomorrow, followed by Aug. 13, 20 and 30. To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Disney Pixar's movie Toy Story, the festival has partnered with Walt Disney Co (Taiwan) to host a special themed area on
BE CAREFUL: The virus rarely causes severe illness or death, but newborns, older people and those with medical conditions are at risk of more severe illness As more than 7,000 cases of chikungunya fever have been reported in China’s Guangdong Province this year, including 2,892 new cases last week, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday said it is monitoring the situation and considering raising the travel notice level, which might be announced today. The CDC issued a level 1 travel notice, or “watch,” for Guangdong Province on July 22, citing an outbreak in Foshan, a manufacturing hub in the south of the province, that was reported early last month. Between July 27 and Saturday, the province reported 2,892 new cases of chikungunya, reaching a total of 7,716
RSS