In spite of the government's policy to provide fuel subsidies for taxis and other public transportation, taxi fares in Taipei are still expected to increase as soon as October, Taipei City's Department of Transportation said yesterday.

As Taipei City Taxi Union and six other taxi associations have already presented two new fare proposals, the department said it would hold a cross-city negotiation meeting next week to discuss a new fare policy with taxi associations in Taipei City, Taipei County, Keelung, Taoyuan County and Ilan County.

According to Yeh Chuen-tzu (葉梓銓) a department section chief, the associations proposed to either raise the flag fall fare from NT$70 to NT$100 and keep the metered fares as they are, or raise the flag fall to NT$90 and increase the metered fares from NT$5 for each additional 300m to NT$5 for each additional 250m.

Yeh said the other four cities and counties always followed Taipei City's taxi fare policy, and so the department would invite their taxi associations to discuss the new fare next week.

"The department will review its fare policy based on their proposals, but it's not necessary that we adopt their proposed fees," Yeh said.

Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) said he would respect the department's final decision.

The Taipei City Taxi Union presented two fare proposals last Wednesday to the transportation department. Yeh said it was not unreasonable for the union to want a fare raise.

A fare hike would still be two to three months away because the fare-review committee has to review the proposals.

The last Taipei taxi fare increase was on Dec. 1, 2000. The city government considered raising the flag-fall rate by as much as NT$25 in 2005, but ended up reducing the vehicle license tax and fuel tax for taxi drivers.

The government's new subsidy policy gives taxi drivers a subsidy of NT$2 per liter of fuel for up to 550 liters per month.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2007/07/27/2003371438