Despite a surge in local COVID-19 cases, railway passengers can still eat and drink onboard, Minister of Transportation and Communications Wang Kwo-tsai (王國材) said yesterday.
Wang was responding to questions on whether food and beverage consumption would be prohibited on Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) and Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp (THSRC) trains, as COVID-19 infections have risen dramatically since the beginning of this month.
Wang said the ministry has no plans to reimpose a ban.
Photo: CNA
“Railway passengers should still be allowed to eat and drink onboard as long as they observe disease prevention guidelines. Otherwise, people on four-and-a-half-hour or longer trips would be starving,” he said.
In other news, Wang denied that the TRA and THSRC would soon raise fares.
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications last week approved THSRC’s proposal to raise the basic rate from NT$4.134 per passenger-kilometer (pkm) to NT$4.313 per pkm.
The adjustment, which was made in response to the rise in Taiwan’s consumer price index, would raise one-way fare from Taipei to Kaohsiung from NT$1,490 to NT$1,630.
Local Chinese-language media have reported that the TRA would follow suit, with the price for a one-way ticket from Taipei to Kaohsiung costing more than NT$1,000.
“THSRC is a publicly listed firm, and we will respect its board of directors’ decision. If the board votes to raise ticket prices, the pricing scheme would still have to be approved by the transport ministry, which holds 43 percent of the company’s shares,” Wang said.
There had been instances in which the board voted against a price hike, although the ministry had approved a basic rate hike.
Wang told a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee that he would ask the board directors representing the ministry to not support the plan to increase fares.
“The focus of the TRA’s reform is to enhance safety and service punctuality. Unless the TRA substantially improves on both fronts, we will not talk about plans to raise fares,” he said.
TRA Director-General Du Wei (杜微) said the agency has tasked a consulting firm to stipulate a new formula for calculating ticket prices, but it does not plan to raise fares at the moment.
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