The Ministry of Transportation and Communications is launching TPASS 2.0+ to encourage people to take medium and long-distance intercity buses by offering cashback incentives for trips of longer than 70km.
Passenger would receive a rebate of 15 percent after two qualifying trips, and 30 percent after four trips, Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Shih-kai (陳世凱) said at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee yesterday.
For example, passengers who make two round trips from Taipei to Hsinchu would get a NT$45 rebate, as the one-way fare is NT$150, Chen said.
Photo: CNA
The ministry launched the TPASS program in 2023 to reduce the financial burden of daily commuting.
Now there are 29 commuter pass programs across 20 cities and counties.
The ministry upgraded the program to TPASS 2.0 earlier this year, encouraging people to take public transportation by offering discounts to frequent passengers.
Public transportation ridership last year increased by 27.4 percent compared with the period before the implementation of the TPASS, according to a ministry report.
From January to July this year, ridership grew by 41.4 percent compared with the same period in 2022, the ministry said.
Intercity buses play a vital role in Taiwan’s transportation system, and the ministry is launching TPASS 2.0+ to promote the industry’s healthy development, Chen said.
People can register next month and the TPASS 2.0+ rebate program would hopefully launch in December, Highway Administration Director-General Lin Fu-shan (林福山) said.
There are currently 85 intercity bus routes that qualify for the rebate, and passengers taking intercity buses during long weekends would benefit from additional holiday discounts, Lin said.
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