The Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) yesterday said it would soon cancel group tickets for east coast and west coast trains operating on major national holidays, adding that the policy could take effect before the Dragon Boat Festival holiday.
The policy was announced by Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Jian-yu (陳建宇), when he was asked by legislators representing east coast residents how the ministry plans to meet rising demand for tickets on east coast trains during holidays.
According to legislators, homebound east coast residents find it hard to buy tickets for major national holidays or long weekends because the limited number of tickets are bought not only by residents but also by tourists.
Chen said that group tickets for east coast trains would not be available for the seven major national holidays or any holiday lasting more than three days, including the New Year holiday, the Lunar New Year holiday, 228 Memorial Day holiday, the Tomb-Sweeping Day holiday, the Dragon Boat Festival, the Mid-Autumn Festival and Double Ten National Day.
Currently, group tickets account for about 20 percent of ticket sales for each express train service.
The railway operator said that it estimates that 5,000 east coast express train tickets would be available for individual passengers to purchase for these major holidays after group tickets are canceled.
The administration has started allowing people to reserve train tickets for the Tomb-Sweeping Day holiday, TRA Director General Chou Yung-hui (周永暉) said.
Therefore, the new policy could be enforced when people begin making reservations to travel during the Dragon Boat Festival holiday, which begins on June 9, Chou said.
The percentage of tickets allocated for group reservations on weekend train services would be lowered from 20 percent to between 10 and 15 percent to increase the supply for train tickets available to east coast residents, Chou said, adding that the administration has yet to announce when this policy would be implemented.
Group tickets are mostly purchased by passengers heading to the east coast, TRA Transportation Department director Yu Wei-chieh (余維杰) said.
As there are train services going directly from the west coast to the east coast, Yu said that canceling group tickets for both west coast and east coast trains would be the best way avoid confusion for passengers, adding that the administration is exploring the most viable way to do so.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislators Liu Chao-hao (劉櫂豪) and Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) have proposed that registered residents of Yilan, Hualien and Taitung counties, or those whose ID numbers begin with G, U or V, are given priority to purchase tickets for weekend trains and any national holiday lasting at three days. The names of the ticket holders would be printed on the tickets as well, they said.
In response, both Chen and Chou said that the policy would be difficult to enforce and have legal ramifications, adding that there are more effective ways of verifying if ticket holders are registered east coast residents.
“Not all east coast residents have ID numbers beginning with G, U or V,” Chen said.
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