The Taipei City Government plans to allocate NT$39.2 million (US$1.29 million) to provide a subsidy of NT$8,000 to each pregnant woman in the city to pay for taxi rides before and after they give birth.
The city government delivered its budget allocation revision proposal to the Taipei City Council, which is to hear Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an’s (蔣萬安) first report as mayor today and tomorrow.
The plan proposed by the Department of Social Affairs is expected to start in July. It would allow all pregnant Taipei residents who have received a Maternal Health Booklet to apply for the subsidy.
Chiang yesterday said he proposed the plan during his election campaign last year.
The program would have three features, he said.
First, women would be able to apply for the subsidy from the time they obtain a Maternal Health Booklet until six months after birth, Chiang said.
Second, each pregnant woman can apply for a subsidy of NT$8,000 for each child, with a maximum discount of NT$250 per taxi ride, he said.
Finally, the program would be linked to the city government’s TaipeiPass mobile app to make it easier for pregnant woman or mothers with newborns to call a taxi, he added.
Chiang also met with the city council caucuses of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party, but not the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
He said the DPP caucus declined his visit, as it had an internal meeting scheduled for noon.
However, DPP Taipei City Councilor and caucus convener Chien Shu-pei (簡舒培) said the city government initially scheduled a dinner meeting for 7pm yesterday, but at 10am said that Chiang wanted to meet at noon instead, so the caucus declined the request, which was made at short notice.
She said Chiang should not treat the DPP caucus like a convenience store that he can visit whenever he wants.
Additional reporting by CNA
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