TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) pledged Tuesday (May 6) that special discount programs for eastern Taiwan residents will be established before Taiwan Railway (台鐵) implements its first fare increase in three decades on June 23. The long-delayed price adjustment will raise fares by an average of 26.8% nationwide, with the critical Taipei to Taitung route increasing from NT$783 (about US$26.15) to NT$936 (about US$31.26), representing a 19.5% jump.
Kuomintang (KMT, 國民黨) Legislator Huang Chien-pin (黃建賓) called for utilizing the Hualien and Taitung Sustainable Development Fund (花東地區永續發展基金) to subsidize eastern residents' travel costs instead of relying on what he termed an inadequate loyalty program. Huang sharply criticized the existing point system that provides passengers just NT$1 (about US$0.03) in discounts for every NT$100 (about US$3.34) spent on tickets. He emphasized that even if the government doubled these reward points, the 2% savings would remain insufficient for eastern Taiwan residents who depend heavily on rail service.
Transportation Minister Chen Shih-kai (陳世凱) defended the government's approach, proposing that membership rewards could be increased by four or five times their current value for eastern residents. Chen pledged enhanced discounts specifically targeting Hualien and Taitung passengers. In response to the mounting concerns, Premier Cho directed the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC, 交通部) to develop comprehensive alternative discount schemes and ensure all technical systems are fully integrated before the June deadline. ★