Taiwan's Strategy: Affordable Fares to Boost New Transportation Network

As reported by Railway Gazette International, Kuo-chi wu, teh President of New Taipei Metro Corp, shares insights on managing two light rail lines and one metro line, with plans for additional expansions. he emphasizes that a streamlined organization and affordable fares are crucial for success.

Established in 2010, the New Taipei City government emerged as an autonomous administrative body surrounding central Taipei. To enhance its transportation network and compete with the more developed metro system of taipei City,it launched New Taipei Metro Corp in 2018 to oversee new transit lines.

“Our services primarily act as feeder routes connecting to the existing Taipei Rapid transit Corporation (TRTC) lines,” Wu explained during an interview on May 28. Despite being Taiwan’s most populous municipality with around four million residents, New Taipei has a lower population density compared to its urban counterpart.

An Expanding Network

The NTMC currently operates two light rail systems: the Danhai LRT spans 9.5 kilometers and includes both the Green Mountain Line (opened december 2018) and Blue Sea Line (launched november 2020), both radiating from Hongshulin station on the Red metro line.

A newer addition is the Ankeng LRT,which opened in February 2023. this line connects Shisizhang station on the Circular Line to Shuangcheng in southern New Taipei.

The only operational metro service under NTMC is the Circular line; its first segment began operations in January 2020 linking Dapinglin on Taiwan’s Green Line to New Taipei Industrial Park station of Taoyuan Airport MRT. Extensions are currently underway at both ends.

The Innovative New taipei model

Kuo-Chi Wu leads NTMC through financial challenges posed by their medium-capacity network of light rail and metro lines. “On average, our ridership across all operational services is about 100,000 daily,” he noted—significantly lower than TRTC’s approximately two million daily riders during that same period—resulting in reduced ticket revenue for NTMC.

“To ensure fairness among passengers,” Wu added, “we’ve aligned our fare structure with TRTC’s rates ranging from NT$20 to NT$65 per journey.”

“We calculated our operational costs per trip and reached an agreement with local authorities for subsidies to cover fare discrepancies,” he continued.

NTMC also diversifies income through advertising opportunities and leasing retail spaces within stations. “To maintain sustainable operations despite low ridership,” Wu elaborated, “we’ve adopted what we call ‘the New Taipei Model,’ which minimizes departmental divisions compared to TRTC.” This approach fosters quicker decision-making processes while allowing employees broader responsibilities across various areas.

emphasizing Automation & Local Sourcing

“We’re dedicated to integrating advanced technology like automation and AI into our operations,” said Wu. “We’ve even implemented several no-staff stops along our light rail routes.” Additionally, sourcing spare parts locally has proven cost-effective; for instance, they found a local supplier offering platform screen door glass at just NT$40K instead of paying over half a million from original manufacturers—a staggering reduction!

Making Fares Competitive

Wu acknowledged that high private vehicle usage remains prevalent due to limited access points along mass transit routes: “Many residents have grown accustomed to driving their own cars.” Convincing them or else poses challenges; though, attractive pricing serves as a key motivator for shifting habits towards public transport options. He proudly noted steady growth rates averaging four percent quarterly across their three active lines.