The Kaohsiung Light Rail will start charging fares in November this year. Until February 2018, passengers with electronic transit cards will only be charged NT$10.

Travel Center / General Report

The last day of the Kaohsiung Light Rail trial ride is the 31st. To encourage the public to develop the habit of tapping in with a card when riding,from November 1st to February 8th of next year (2018), passengers holding electronic ticketing cards (iPass or Happy Cash) will only need to pay 10 NT dollars. However, those transferring to other modes of transport or who qualify for senior or disabled discounts do not receive additional benefits.

▲ From now until February 8th, 2018, the Kaohsiung Light Rail only costs 10 NT dollars with an electronic ticketing card. (Photo / Reporter Lai Wen-hsuan)

The first 14 stations of the Kaohsiung Circular Light Rail (C1 to C14) use a flat fare system — just tap your card when boarding, “tap once per ride,” and there’s no need to tap again when alighting. Currently, only the iPass and Happy Cash electronic ticketing cards are supported. If you don’t have one, you’ll need to purchase a 30 NT dollar single-journey ticket from the platform ticketing machines. Riders must also comply with ticket inspection procedures. Riding without a ticket will result in having to pay the fare for that trip, plus a penalty of fifty times the original fare according to the law. Those who refuse to cooperate with ticket inspections may be fined between 1,500 and 7,500 New Taiwan Dollars according to the law.

▲ Those who fail to purchase a ticket or do not cooperate with station staff during ticket inspections may be fined up to 7,500 NT dollars. (Photo / Provided by the Kaohsiung City Government)