Taipei, July 3 (CNA) The new regional public transport card TPass has been used for an estimated 414,000 rides since it was launched at the start of the month in northern, central and southern Taiwan, Transportation Minister Wang Kuo-tsai (王國材) said Monday.
Speaking to reporters at Taipei Main Station, Wang said some 307,000 TPass cards have been sold so far in the three regions.
Passenger traffic was smooth at Taiwan Railways Administration's (TRA) contactless turnstiles at Taipei Main Station, Wang said, after watching commuters use their unlimited monthly pass on the first day of the work week.
It was a huge improvement from the two previous days, when some people seemed unaware that there were designated gates for only TPass users at the TRA stations, Wang said, adding that he hoped all TRA turnstiles will be able to scan the new TPass cards by the end of the year.
On the Taipei and Kaohsiung MRT systems, the new TPass cards can be used at all turnstiles, because those two cities had earlier implemented a monthly pass that was similar to the new card, the minister noted.
Meanwhile, a commuter told CNA on Monday that she was still using her monthly public transportation pass to travel for work between New Taipei and Taipei.
The woman, who identified herself only as Chen (陳), said she will switch to the new TPass later, as she does not want to waste her current monthly pass, which costed NT$1,280.
On Monday, some 20,000 TPass cards had been sold in the Taipei MRT alone as of 10 a.m., according to the city's Department of Transportation
The TPass issued in Taipei can be used for travel in three other cities in northern Taiwan -- Keelung, New Taipei and Taoyuan -- while the other versions cover Taichung and the counties of Miaoli, Nantou and Changhua in central Taiwan; and Tainan, Kaohsiung and Pingtung County in the south of the country.
In Taichung, use of the TPass was progressing smoothly on Monday, according to the city's Transportation Bureau, which reported sales of 17,000 cards since pre-sale began on June 15.
Commuter traffic was also flowing well at the TRA station in Kaohsiung, although there were a few people who had forgotten to activate their TPass cards and could not go though the turnstiles.
On Monday, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) used the TPass card to travel on the Airport MRT from Taipei to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport.
She said that transportation is an important part of life, as many people have to commute to work, and she hoped the new monthly pass would help to ease the cost.
Tsai also encouraged more people to take public transportation, in an effort to reduce carbon emissions for the sake of the environment.
The central government has allocated NT$20 billion over the next three years to subsidize projects for the implementation of regional monthly transit passes across Taiwan, according to Transportation Minster Wang.
