CONTENTIOUS CUTS:The Taipei mayor also plans to reduce benefits for Taipei’s wealthy elderly, who might see their rights to free bus travel and other subsidies cut
Taipei Times
Date: Jun 23, 2015
By: Abraham Gerber / Staff reporter
Discounts for EasyCard use are to be canceled as part of an adjustment of public transportation
Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je speaks to the media in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
ticket prices, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said yesterday.
He said that the discounts would be canceled to make accounting simpler for the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) which has been shouldering the cost of the discounts.
EasyCard users currently enjoy a 20 percent discount on MRT rides along with an additional 20 percent discount for transfers between the MRT and city buses.
Ko added that the canceling of the discounts would not necessarily entail a price hike, because it would be paired with the implementation of a new formula for calculating public transportation usage fees.
“In the future, the MRT, city buses and the YouBike system will all be viewed as parts of Taipei’s public transportation system,” Ko said. “Switching to a different mode of transportation within 30 minutes will be considered a single trip.” [FULL STORY]
