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Taxi fares up 10% in Taipei starting November

TAIPEI, Taiwan -- With the Taipei City Government’s expected approval, a 10 percent taxi fare hike will come into effect in Taiwan’s capital as early as Nov. 1st, a city transportation official announced yesterday after the city’s public utilities rates screening committee selected one of the three taxi fare hikes proposed by taxi associations in Taipei.

The winning proposal, designed to partially offset increased oil costs, will bring the daytime fare up to current nighttime fare levels while the new nighttime fares will be marked up NT$20 per trip.

Specifically, the starting daytime fare will remain unchanged at NT$70 but will cover only the first 1,250 meters, down from 1,500 meters. The same NT$5 that currently takes passengers 300 additional meters or buys 2 minutes of wait time will only buy 250 additional meters or 1 minute and 24 seconds of idling under the new fare.

According to transportation officials, the new fare will have a more pronounced impact on long-distance trips. Based on an average ride of 5.11 kilometers, the new fare represents an estimated hike of 10 percent.

Cab drivers and taxi associations in Taipei responded that, while not satisfactory, the fare-hike resolution was acceptable because there will be no need to replace the current meters. City cab drivers also expect little backlash from passengers due to the modest hike, though they expressed disappointment that the new fares will not take effect sooner.

The fare-raise proposal is scheduled to be approved by the Taipei City Government on October 16th and implemented on November 1st at the earliest.

Of the two losing proposals, one calls for a flat increase to the starting fare, from NT$70 to NT$100, while the other is similar to the winning proposal with the addition of a NT$20 hike to the starting fare.

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