The number of travelers between the Port of Taipei and Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province is expected to increase by about 19 percent to reach 110,000 this year, Taiwan International Ports Corp’s Keelung branch said yesterday.
Increases in demand and supply of passenger transport services, as well as ticket discounts, have contributed to a gradual rise in passengers on the cross-strait sea route, Port of Keelung chief secretary Chang Yi-yuan (張溢源) said.
The number of travelers between the Port of Taipei and Pingtan grew from 71,410 in 2016 and 77,390 in 2017 to 92,000 last year, Chang said, adding that travelers on the route are expected to top 110,000 this year.
Photo: CNA
In view of the increase in passengers, two shipping firms operating the Port of Taipei-Pingtan route — Fujian Cross Strait Ferry Corp and Uni-Wagon Maritime Co — last month began increasing the number of services from four round-trip voyages per week to six round-trip services per week, which has expanded capacity by 12,000 passengers per month, he said.
As of Monday, 45,000 passengers had used the cross-strait ferry service this year, a 26 percent increase from the same period last year, he added.
The shipping firms have been offering discounts to passengers, with a round-trip ticket between the Port of Taipei and Pingtan costing NT$3,000 per person for group travelers or NT$3,500 for individual passengers — only slightly more than a round-trip high-speed rail ticket between Taipei and Zuoying (左營) in Kaohsiung, Chang said.
Most Chinese travelers using the service were tourists, while Taiwanese passengers were mostly business travelers, he said.
The travel time from the Port of Taipei to Pingtan is about three-and-a-half hours, Chang said, adding that Taiwanese are required to present their passport and Mainland Travel Permit to purchase tickets.
The Port of Taipei is close to New Taipei City’s Bali (八里) and Tamsui (淡水) districts, as well as an outlet mall in Linkou District (林口), he said, adding that expressways No. 61 and No. 64 connect the port with Taipei and New Taipei City, as well as Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, which is 25 minutes away.
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from India could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program. The caucus’ opposition to the policy is based on the assessment that “the risk is too high,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said. Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
TRADE-OFF: Beijing seeks to trade a bowl of tempura for a Chinese delicacy, an official said, while another said its promises were attempts to interfere in the polls The government must carefully consider the national security implications of building a bridge connecting Kinmen County and Xiamen, China, the Public Construction Commission (PCC) said yesterday. PCC Commissioner Derek Chen (陳金德), who is also a minister without portfolio, made the remarks in a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, after Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Hsu Fu-kuei (徐富癸) asked about China’s proposal of new infrastructure projects to further connect Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties with Xiamen. China unveiled the bridge plan, along with nine other policies for Taiwan, on Sunday, the last day of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun’s (鄭麗文) visit
RSS