Commuters would soon be able to purchase monthly passes to access public transportation for certain regions after the legislature approves a plan to distribute surplus tax revenue from last year, Minister of Transportation and Communications Wang Kwo-tsai (王國材) said yesterday.
Wang told a news conference in Taipei that monthly passes could be available for purchase this year, after the Cabinet agreed to allocate a special budget for the program once the distribution plan passes the legislature.
Last year, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) mayoral candidates in Taipei, Taoyuan, Keelung and New Taipei City pledged to offer a pass allowing unlimited access to public transportation, including public bikes, in the cities for NT$1,200 per month.
Photo: Liang Chen-hui, Taipei Times
They also pledged to seek subsidies from the central government to fund such a program.
Wang told lawmakers last year that while he supported the proposal, local governments would have to pay their share of the subsidies and propose a detailed plan.
He also said that a monthly pass program would be implemented next year after the ministry allocates the budget for it this year.
However, Wang yesterday said the government was ready to fund the proposal.
Directorate-General of Highways Director Chen Wen-juei (陳文瑞) said that the monthly pass program would be implemented mainly in three metropolitan areas in the north, central and south regions.
The north region includes Taipei, Taoyuan, Keelung and New Taipei City; the central region includes Taichung, and Changhua and Nantou counties; and the south region includes Tainan, Kaohsiung and Pingtung County.
Transportation officials must propose plans on how to increase use of public transportation by introducing monthly passes, Chen said.
Other cities and counties can qualify for subsidies by proposing plans to increase the use of public transportation systems, he said.
“We had a meeting with transportation officials in all these localities on Jan. 5 to discuss transportation systems to be covered by the monthly pass, as well as the fundamental principles governing the pricing of the pass and distribution of government subsidies. In addition to public buses, MRT rail systems and public bike systems, the pass must also cover fares for the Taiwan Railways Administration system as well as freeway and highway buses,” he said.
About 11 million people would benefit from the monthly pass program, Chen said, adding that details are to be finalized and announced next month.
“With the increase of people using public transportation, we also estimated that the number of traffic accidents would drop by about 5 percent,” he said.
Separately, Wang said that the government would enhance road safety across the country this year, seeking to reduce the number of people killed in traffic accidents by 5 percent within 30 days.
“Among the ministry’s achievements last year, I am most dissatisfied with how we performed in terms of road safety,” he said. “We will tackle the issue by focusing on the safety of motorcyclists, elderly people and pedestrians.”
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