The Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) yesterday approved Taiwan Railway Corp’s (TRC) request to increase ticket prices. The request would be forwarded to the Executive Yuan by the end of the month at the earliest.
If approved, ticket fare increases are expected to be implemented as soon as the first half of this year. The ministry said it would need two months to make changes to the system and that the Executive Yuan would make the final decision on when the new ticket prices would be implemented.
The ministry said railway ticket prices have not been adjusted in more than three decades, while operational costs have increased by 37.98 percent compared with 30 years ago.
Photo courtesy of Max Chang via CNA
The company’s income from ticket fares has not been enough to cover operational costs, and short-distance travel using the rail system was comparatively lower than those of the MRT, the bus or inter-city buses, the ministry added.
With the former state-run company becoming a private enterprise earlier this year, it must now be responsible for its finances, so ticketing price adjustments are necessary, the ministry said.
The new rates would depend on the kind of train and the distance traveled, it said, adding that the further the travel, the cheaper the fare.
For example, fares for local trains running from Taipei to Banciao (板橋) would increase from NT$15 to NT$22, while travel from Taipei to Hsinchu would increase from NT$114 to NT$163, the ministry said.
For Tze-Chiang Express trains traveling from Taipei to Hsinchu would rise from NT$117 to NT$253, and rides from Taipei to Keelung would increase from NT$64 to NT$96, it added.
According to the ministry, the prices for Tzechiang from Taipei to Hualien and Taitung counties, at NT$583 and NT$953 currently, would be hiked by NT$134 and NT$152, respectively.
Passengers enrolled in the TPASS program would not see any changes to pricing and would continue to enjoy unlimited rides within their program areas, the ministry added.
Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Shih-kai (陳世凱) recently said that it is unclear how long the Executive Yuan would take to review the request, but there was a chance it would be approved in the first half of the year.
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