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.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
Tropical Storm Fung-Wong would likely strengthen into a typhoon later today as it continues moving westward across the Pacific before heading in Taiwan’s direction next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 8am, Fung-Wong was about 2,190km east-southeast of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving westward at 25kph and possibly accelerating to 31kph, CWA data showed. The tropical storm is currently over waters east of the Philippines and still far from Taiwan, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said, adding that it could likely strengthen into a typhoon later in the day. It is forecast to reach the South China Sea
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
Nearly 5 million people have signed up to receive the government’s NT$10,000 (US$322) universal cash handout since registration opened on Wednesday last week, with deposits expected to begin tomorrow, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. After a staggered sign-up last week — based on the final digit of the applicant’s national ID or Alien Resident Certificate number — online registration is open to all eligible Taiwanese nationals, foreign permanent residents and spouses of Taiwanese nationals. Banks are expected to start issuing deposits from 6pm today, the ministry said. Those who completed registration by yesterday are expected to receive their NT$10,000 tomorrow, National Treasury
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