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By Huang Yi-ching and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writer
Subsidies for taxis are to increase by NT$9,000, bringing the total to NT$15,000 per vehicle, to help stabilize public transportation fees amid rising crude oil prices, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications announced on Monday.
The measure is part of the ministry’s expanded transport fare stabilization measures, which would also extend subsidies for intercity buses, ferries and domestic flights for another three months to a total of six months.
The idea behind the expansion is to stabilize fares, prevent service interruptions and avoid passing the pressure on to consumers, the ministry said.
Photo: Taipei Times
Taxis are an important means of transportation for people to commute to and from work, get to hospitals, return home at night, or for other necessary travel, the ministry said.
Since May 20, the government has subsidized taxi drivers NT$5 per liter of fuel, the ministry said, adding that drivers have until Aug. 31 to apply for the subsidies to help them weather challenges through the end of the year.
As of Friday last week, 80 percent of all eligible taxis, or 72,725 drivers, had applied for the subsidies, it said.
Applicants would receive the additional subsidy amount before Tuesday next week, it said.
Drivers who have not applied for the subsidies can visit the Web sites of CPC Corp, Taiwan and Formosa Oil, or apply for the subsidies at designated locations, it said, adding that they would receive a lump sum of NT$15,000 once the application is complete.
For intercity buses, the ministry is subsidizing the price difference if a transport operator receives approval to raise fares, so that increased costs are not directly passed on to passengers, it said.
Regarding domestic flights, CPC Corp has been asked to absorb all increases in fuel prices, so domestic flight fuel prices have been fixed at NT$27.25 per liter for the past three months.
The ministry said that it would allocate a budget to compensate airlines for their additional expenses.
