Huang Yi chung, director of the KRTC’s Public Affairs Department, said that 4,000 passengers used the east-west line operating from Sizihwan in Kaohsiung City to Daliao in Kaohsiung County between 6:30 a.m. and 8:30 a.m.

The figure compares to more than 15,000 riders on the system’s north-south Red Line, which was launched in early March.

Noting that the KRTC is offering free rides on the Orange Line between the line’s launch date on Sept. 13 and Sept. 21, Huang said the relatively low number of passengers during Monday morning’s peak hours could be cause for concern.

However, he continued, the KRTC’s tallies showed that passenger numbers on the Orange Line exploded later the same morning, breaking the 20,000 mark by 11 a.m.

A majority of these passengers used trains heading to Sizihwan Station, Huang noted, adding that the KRTC thinks many of them were leisure passengers heading to the Cijin scenic area and other leisure spots in the southern port city.

Huang said that the KRTC is closely monitoring passenger numbers on the new line to use as a reference in formulating policy to attract more commuters.