Consumers still face high bus fares despite lower fuel prices

Highway officials announced yesterday that they have asked highway transport firms to cut their bus fares by 4 percent starting on Dec. 7. But the Consumers Foundation demanded a slash of 19 percent to reflect the falling fuel cost.

Officials at the Directorate General of Highways under the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) said bus companies did not have to lower their fares in October because the government suspended subsidy for their fuel costs.

But the firms should shave their ticket prices in December because of the continuous drop in oil prices.

Yet CF Chairman Hsieh Tien-jen said the gasoline and diesel prices have declined seven weeks in a row for a cumulative drop of 19 percent to reach the lowest level in five years.

Hsieh said the government started providing a subsidy to bus companies to cope with soaring fuel prices in August last year.

The subsidy increased to NT$7.40 per liter for diesel on May 28. The nation’s taxpayers gave subsidies amounting to NT$417.2 million during the period from August 2007 to September this year.

However, the bus firms have been seeking a 20 percent hike in fares after the government suspended subsidies in October due to falling oil prices.

Hsieh urged the MOTC to safeguard the interests of consumers and taxpayers.

Officials of the Taiwan bus operators association urged the MOTC not to force the companies to cut prices by Dec. 7 because they plan to submit a fare hike plan on Dec. 1.

They said the firms’ overall operations costs have increased sharply after a 45 percent jump in tire prices while battery costs have skyrocketed by more than 100 percent in recent months.

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