阿羅哈、日統接連停駛，為何客運業快「撐不住了」？還有辦法救嗎？《台灣交通怎麼了？》EP 018｜志祺七七

Summary

The video discusses the 'Taiwan's Passenger Transport Management Crisis', highlighting the decline in passenger transport services due to factors like high-speed rail competition, fare restrictions, driver shortages, and the impact of the pandemic. It explores the government's efforts to subsidize fares and drivers, as well as potential solutions like mixed passenger and cargo transportation. The video emphasizes the importance of passenger transport, especially for rural areas, and invites viewers to consider alternatives and share their thoughts on the crisis.

Takeaways

• 🚌 Taiwan's passenger transport industry is facing a significant crisis with services becoming less frequent and harder to access.
• 🏆 'Aloha Passenger Transport', once a luxury leader, ceased operations after 20 years due to financial losses, highlighting broader industry struggles.
• 📉 Over the past decade, the annual passenger volume for road transport in Taiwan has plummeted from 200 million to around 80 million.
• 🛣️ The number of national highway and general road passenger transport routes has been halved from 1051 in 2011 to 555 in 2023.
• 🚅 The advent of the high-speed rail has siphoned off passengers from traditional road transport, especially after its expansion to central regions.
• 💵 Fare caps for national highway passenger transport have been stagnant for 17 years, leading to financial strain as operational costs rise.
• 🚸 The inability to retain drivers due to poor working conditions and long hours is exacerbating the crisis, with a widening gap in driver availability.
• 🔄 The reduction in services creates a vicious cycle where fewer flights lead to fewer passengers, which in turn leads to further service reductions.
• 😷 The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the decline, with many drivers leaving the industry during the downturn, creating a significant labor shortage.
• 🚦 Government interventions, such as increased subsidies and fare adjustments, are being considered to alleviate the crisis and support the industry.

Q & A

What was the impact of the Taiwan High Speed ​​Rail on passenger transport services?

The Taiwan High Speed ​​Rail, which began operation in 2007, gradually became the main transportation force in the western half of Taiwan, leading to a significant loss of passengers for traditional passenger transport services. This overlap in routes resulted in a decrease in the frequency of passenger transport usage.

Why did Aloha Passenger Transport cease operations?

Aloha Passenger Transport faced repeated losses over time and eventually announced that it would cease operations, switching to general tour bus services. It became the first national highway passenger transport company in Taiwan to suspend operations during the epidemic.

What challenges did Hsinchu Passenger Transport face, and how did the situation resolve?

Hsinchu Passenger Transport, which had been operating for over a century, announced it would end operations due to declining traffic volume and poor management. However, after Hsinchu County urgently increased subsidies, the company continued to operate, albeit on a reduced scale with only some routes.

How has the number of passenger transport routes changed in Taiwan over the past decade?

In just the past ten years, the number of national highway and general road passenger transport routes in Taiwan has been almost cut in half, decreasing from 1,051 routes in 2011 to 555 routes by 2023.

What is the significance of passenger transport for residents in towns and remote areas without railways?

Passenger transport is crucial for residents in towns and remote areas without railways, as it serves as their primary means of transportation to and from the city for work, shopping, or medical needs, especially for students and the elderly who do not have cars.

What are the main reasons behind the difficulty of passenger transport operators to 'make ends meet'?

The main reasons include the loss of passengers due to the rise of high-speed rail, fare problems where the ticket price has an upper limit that has not been adjusted for 17 years despite increasing costs, and the inability to retain drivers due to poor working conditions and high working hours.

How has the driver shortage affected passenger transport operations?

The driver shortage has led to operators not being able to find enough drivers, forcing them to reduce the frequency of their services. This reduction in service frequency has created a vicious cycle where fewer flights lead to fewer passengers, and the need for drivers increases due to overtime work.

What was the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the passenger transport industry in Taiwan?

The pandemic led to a large-scale departure of drivers as demand for passenger transport dropped significantly. Additionally, more people chose to drive or buy cars to avoid the risk of infection, leading to increased traffic congestion and a further decline in the use of passenger transport.

What measures is the government taking to address the passenger transport crisis?

The government is increasing fare subsidies and driver subsidies to incentivize operators to continue their services. They have also ended the 17-year fare freeze and raised the upper limit for national highway passenger transport fares to help operators reduce losses.

What alternative solutions have been proposed to help the passenger transport industry?

Some proposed solutions include introducing foreign drivers to address the driver shortage, mixed passenger and cargo transportation to increase revenue per trip, and the introduction of double-decker passenger transport to increase passenger capacity on each trip.

Why is it important to support passenger transport despite its current challenges?

Passenger transport remains important as it serves 200,000 people daily, supports the operation of the public road network, and provides access to areas that are beyond the reach of other transportation services, particularly in rural areas where it is a critical part of daily life infrastructure.

Outlines

00:00

🚌 Taiwan's Passenger Transport Crisis

The video script discusses the decline in Taiwan's passenger transport services, highlighting the case of Aloha Passenger Transport, which once dominated the luxury segment but ceased operations due to financial losses. It points out a broader trend of reduced frequency and increased difficulty in accessing passenger transport services. The script also mentions the impact of high-speed rail on passenger transport, with a significant drop in passenger volume and revenue over the past decade. The crisis is not limited to Aloha, as other long-standing transport companies have also faced closure or reduced services. The script sets the stage for a deeper discussion on the severity of the crisis, its causes, and potential solutions.

05:01

📉 Financial Struggles and Service Suspensions

This paragraph delves into the financial difficulties faced by Taiwan's passenger transport companies, with a focus on the inability to cover operational costs due to declining passenger numbers and fare limitations. It discusses how the introduction of high-speed rail has drawn passengers away from traditional transport, leading to a significant drop in revenue. The script also addresses the issue of driver shortages, with long working hours and poor working conditions driving many to seek other employment. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is noted, with many drivers leaving the industry during the downturn, leading to a further reduction in services. The paragraph concludes by suggesting that without intervention, the decline of passenger transport services may continue, affecting rural and remote communities disproportionately.

10:03

🔄 Potential Solutions and Future Outlook

The final paragraph of the script explores potential solutions to the ongoing crisis in Taiwan's passenger transport industry. It mentions government efforts to increase subsidies for fares and drivers, as well as the recent decision to lift a 17-year cap on ticket prices to help operators reduce losses. The script also discusses alternative proposals such as introducing foreign drivers, mixed passenger and cargo transportation, and the possibility of double-decker buses to increase efficiency. The narrator emphasizes the importance of passenger transport, especially for rural areas, and calls for collective thought on how to support the industry. The video ends with a call to action for viewers to share their thoughts on the issue and to spread awareness about the crisis.

Keywords

💡Passenger Transport

Passenger transport refers to the movement of people using various modes of transport, such as buses, trains, and ferries. In the context of the video, it specifically addresses the decline in the frequency and availability of long-distance road transport services in Taiwan, which has become a significant issue due to economic and operational challenges. The script mentions the decrease in passenger volume and the subsequent suspension of services by companies like Aloha Passenger Transport.

💡Aloha Passenger Transport

Aloha Passenger Transport was once a leading luxury passenger transport service in Taiwan, known for its high-end sleeper services with personal amenities like beds and LCD TVs. However, as highlighted in the video, it had to cease operations and switch to general tour bus services due to financial losses, exemplifying the broader crisis in Taiwan's passenger transport industry.

💡High-Speed Rail

The high-speed rail is a fast train service that has significantly impacted traditional passenger transport in Taiwan by offering a quicker and more convenient alternative for long-distance travel. The video discusses how the introduction and expansion of the Taiwan High-Speed Rail have led to a decrease in passengers opting for road transport, thereby affecting the revenue and sustainability of passenger transport companies.

💡Fare Caps

Fare caps refer to the maximum prices that can be charged for services, in this case, for national highway passenger transport. The video explains that the fare caps have not been adjusted for 17 years, leading to financial strain on operators as costs rise but ticket prices remain fixed, contributing to the inability of companies to cover their expenses.

💡Driver Shortage

Driver shortage is a critical issue mentioned in the video, where the long working hours and stressful working conditions have led to a lack of drivers willing to work in passenger transport. This shortage exacerbates the crisis by forcing companies to reduce the frequency of services or even suspend operations entirely, as seen with the Nitong Passenger Transport example.

💡Subsidies

Subsidies are financial assistance provided by the government to support certain industries or services. The video discusses how some passenger transport companies have relied on government subsidies to continue operations, but the limited and uneven distribution of these subsidies has not been sufficient to address the underlying financial challenges.

💡Epidemic Impact

The video highlights the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the passenger transport industry, with reduced travel demand leading to further declines in passenger numbers and revenue. The pandemic has also accelerated the departure of drivers from the industry, making the driver shortage crisis even more severe.

💡Mixed Passenger and Cargo Transportation

This concept suggests using passenger transport vehicles to carry both people and goods, aiming to increase revenue per trip and reduce losses on less popular routes. The video mentions this as a potential solution being considered by the Ministry of Transportation in Taiwan to address the financial challenges faced by the industry.

💡Double-Decker Passenger Transport

Double-decker passenger transport refers to buses with two levels of seating to increase passenger capacity. The video suggests this as an idea under discussion to improve efficiency and potentially reduce the financial burden on passenger transport companies by accommodating more passengers per trip.

💡Rural Transportation

Rural transportation is a critical aspect of the video's narrative, emphasizing the importance of passenger transport in connecting remote and rural areas to urban centers. The script points out that the suspension of these services can have severe consequences for residents, particularly for students and the elderly who rely on them for essential travel.

Highlights

Passenger trains and routes in Taiwan have become less frequent and more challenging to use in recent years.

Aloha Passenger Transport, once a leader in luxury services, has ceased operations due to repeated losses.

The suspension of Aloha marks the first national highway passenger transport company in Taiwan to halt operations during the pandemic.

The decline of passenger transport is not an isolated issue but part of a broader crisis.

Highway passenger transport in Taiwan has faced a severe downturn with decreasing routes and passenger numbers.

The annual passenger volume of road passenger transport has halved in the past decade.

The number of national highway and general road passenger transport routes has been reduced by nearly half since 2011.

The suspension of passenger transport services has led to traffic problems in many areas.

For residents in towns and remote areas without railways, the impact of suspended passenger transport is significant.

The rise of high-speed rail has led to a loss of passengers for traditional passenger transport services.

National highway passenger transport ticket prices have been capped and not adjusted for 17 years, leading to financial strain.

Many passenger transport companies are struggling due to increased expenses and inability to raise fares.

Subsidies for passenger transport are unevenly distributed, with some areas receiving more support than others.

The inability to retain drivers due to poor working conditions and high stress is a major challenge for passenger transport operators.

The pandemic has exacerbated the driver shortage in the passenger transport industry.

An increase in private car ownership during the pandemic has reduced the demand for passenger transport.

The government is considering increasing fare subsidies and driver subsidies to support the passenger transport industry.

Proposals to introduce foreign drivers and mixed passenger and cargo transportation are being discussed to address the crisis.

Passenger transport remains crucial for connecting rural areas and supporting daily life, despite the challenges.

Transcripts

Do you usually take passenger transport?

Have you noticed

that in recent years, passenger trains and routes

seem to have become less and less frequent and more difficult to travel?

Today, let us talk about

"Taiwan's Passenger Transport Management Crisis"!

Hiho~ Hello everyone, I am Zhiqi!

Do you have any impressions of "Aloha Passenger Transport"?

He was once the leader in Taiwan's "luxury passenger transport".

For example, in 2000

, it launched a sleeper service.

Passengers not only had their own beds

, but also had personal LCD TVs and independent speakers,

which caused a lot of topics.

At that time, it was also cited by Tonglian and Guoguang. Waiting for the passenger transport company

as a strong competitor!

However, 20 years

later , due to repeated losses, Aloha announced that it would cease operations

and switch to general tour bus services,

becoming

the first national highway passenger transport company in Taiwan to suspend operations during the epidemic.

However, Aloha, which cannot survive, may not be alone. ”!

In fact, this is just the tip of the iceberg of the "passenger transport suspension crisis".

In the past few years, Taiwan's highway passenger transport operations

have faced severe winter

conditions. Operating routes have continued to decrease and

the number of passengers has continued to decline.

A passenger transport suspension crisis may not be far away!

Today’s topic is a topic voted by our members.

We will talk about

the passenger suspension crisis. How serious is it?

What are the reasons behind this?

Is there really no solution?

But before we start today’s discussion,

let’s go into some business service time!

[How serious is the suspension crisis? 】

The "passenger transport" we are talking about today

mainly refers to "road passenger transport",

that is, routes that run relatively long distances and cross counties and cities

can be subdivided into "national highway passenger transport" that travels on national highways

and "general highway passenger transport" that does not use national highways.

Currently, there are many Road passenger transport companies

have experienced declining traffic volume and poor management

and have decided to close their businesses.

In addition to the Aloha Passenger Transport mentioned at the beginning,

in 2022,

"Hsinchu Passenger Transport", which has been operating in Hsinchu County for more than a century,

also announced that it would end operations.

Later, Hsinchu County urgently increased subsidies and

Hsinchu Passenger Transport reluctantly continued to operate

only some routes.

In addition, in 2023,

the "Nitong Passenger Transport" that has served Taipei to Yunlin for 26 years

also decided to suspend all national highway routes.

Although under the coordination of the government

Tonglian took over the original route

, but the frequency of operations has also been reduced a lot.

From the data,

the problems faced by passenger transport are more serious than imagined.

In just the past ten years,

the annual passenger volume of road passenger transport has increased

from 200 million passengers. The number of people has dropped to around 80 million.

For many passenger transport companies

, their turnover has also been cut in half!

Many companies cannot continue to operate

and choose to reduce flights

or close routes to reduce losses.

According to statistics from the Ministry of Transport,

in 2011,

there were a total of 1,051

routes for "national highway passenger transport" plus "general road passenger transport"

, but by 2023

there will only be 555 routes left. The route

was almost cut in half!

The phenomenon of reduced passenger service

has also caused traffic problems in many places!

[Is the suspension of driving an impact? 】

For people living in urban areas,

the suspension of passenger transportation may not have much impact

. After all, everyone can still take the high-speed rail and Taiwan Railway.

There are many alternative options.

However, for residents in towns

or remote areas without railways, the impact will be great. Big!

Passenger transport is the means of transportation for many local people to and from the city.

Whether they are working, shopping or seeing a doctor,

they often take passenger transport.

Especially for students and the elderly who do not have cars,

passenger transport is their only choice

. Therefore, when there is news that passenger transport operators will suspend operations, When there are rumors,

there will be backlash in local areas

, and the government will jump in to coordinate

and see if it can use "increased subsidies" to

persuade operators to continue operating.

However, many times

passenger transport companies still think it is difficult to operate

and choose to stop services.

What difficulties have the passenger transport operators encountered? where?

Because the reasons are a bit complicated

, we will use three chapters

to discuss the various factors that caused the suspension of passenger transportation!

[Why it was stopped: unable to make ends meet]

First of all, one of the major problems encountered by passenger transportation

is "making ends meet".

This includes the loss of passengers

and fare problems .

The passenger part

is very related to the rise of "high-speed rail"!

In 2007, the Taiwan High Speed ​​Rail began operation and

gradually became the main transportation force in the western half of Taiwan.

The routes of the High Speed ​​Rail somewhat overlap

with those of the Taiwan Railways and passenger transportation.

This also resulted in many passengers being sucked away by the High Speed ​​Rail.

Especially in

2015, Yunlin and Changhua were added to the High Speed ​​Rail. The three stations of Miaoli and Yunlin

have given people in the central region another option

to reduce the frequency of passenger transportation

. As mentioned earlier,

the operation of Nitong Passenger Transport was greatly impacted

after the opening of the Yunlin High-speed Railway. In

2023, the average number of high-speed rail The number of daily passengers

exceeded the 200,000 mark, setting a record high!

However, the faster the growth of high-speed rail

, the faster the loss of passenger traffic.

Revenue has always been difficult to increase.

As for the ticket price issue,

many people may not know

that due to regulations,

the ticket price of national highway passenger transport has an upper limit,

and operators cannot increase prices at will!

However, the upper limit of the ticket price

has not been adjusted for 17 consecutive years

. In the past 17 years,

prices and labor costs have increased several times.

As a result, the expenses of the operators have continued to rise. They

have gradually become unable to make ends meet.

Many operators lament

that they are losing money every day they open the door

. It is time to "open a class". For example,

Hsinchu Passenger Transport said

that they lost more than 100 million yuan

in 2022

and were almost out of breath

. At that time, they also asked the General Administration of Highways

to allow them to reduce the scale of their operations

and find ways to tide over the difficulties

, even if the government had Subsidies are provided

, but the help is still very limited

. In particular, subsidy resources are severely unevenly distributed.

For example, in Shuangbei, the government

may have billions of budgets to subsidize loss-making routes

, but other county and city governments

do not have that much money.

Many times they have to hire industry players. Doing meritorious deeds and absorbing the losses on their own.

Many operators cannot survive

and choose to quit.

In addition to long-term losses,

"the inability to retain drivers" is also a headache for passenger transport operators

[Why the service is suspended: the driver cannot be found]

For a long time, passenger transport drivers have The profession

has been criticized for "poor working conditions."

According to the reporter's report,

taking the 9005 passenger transport from Taipei to Taoyuan as an example,

the driver has to get up at 5 o'clock in the morning

and go to the station to clean the car and check the equipment

at 6:05 and leave on time

at 10 o'clock. At that time,

the driver can return to Nangang for a short rest

, but after 4 hours, he will have to dispatch the car again

until 9 p.m. He can not get off work

. Calculated,

the driver has to drive or be on call at the station

for 16 hours a day.

Even if there are labor standards

, but the working hours are

It is easy to get overworked after such a long delay

, not to mention that when carrying passengers

, the drivers may be complained by the public for various reasons,

which makes the drivers very nervous.

Many drivers cannot stand this kind of high working hours and high pressure environment

. Choosing to leave

and such a labor environment

is not attractive to young people,

the manpower gap of drivers is getting bigger and bigger!

Many passenger transport operators cannot find anyone to drive the cars

and have no choice but to reduce their frequency.

But this creates a vicious cycle.

Because there are too few flights,

more and more people don’t take passenger transportation.

Because there are too few passengers

, operators have to continue to work overtime.

After the reduction, and because there are too few flights,

people don’t take passenger transportation

. In the end, many operators cannot hold on

. I chose to close the stall!

The above is mainly about the long-term difficulties of passenger transport.

The "epidemic" in the past three years

has further pushed passenger transport to a trough

[Why the service was suspended: Impact of the epidemic]

The impact of the epidemic on the passenger transport industry

mainly has two levels.

The first is "Drivers left on a large scale"

During the epidemic, people rarely traveled far

and there was little demand for passenger transport.

Therefore, in order to save money, passenger transport companies

had to cut off shifts or temporarily suspend operations

. However, this left

many drivers without jobs and their incomes dropped sharply

. Some people choose to jump into the logistics industry to make money

, and some people simply retire and stop working

, and these drivers have not come back

after the epidemic is over !

Take Guoguang Passenger Transport as an example.

During the two years of the epidemic,

they lost up to 242 drivers.

When the epidemic was over and the crowds returned, they were in a dilemma with no drivers to drive

. There was no way to increase the number of shifts!

Until the beginning of this year,

the vacancy rate of Guoguang drivers

was still 40%, which has not been filled up,

forming a huge manpower gap

. Because there are too few flights,

many passengers who don’t want to wait

take the Taiwan Railway and high-speed rail,

making it more difficult for passenger transport companies to make money!

Another impact brought about by the epidemic is the "increase in cars."

In order to avoid contracting the epidemic,

many people will drive by themselves if they want to go out.

If they do not have a car

, many people will buy new cars during this period.

According to statistics

from the Ministry of Transport,

The number of passenger cars

increased from 6.92 million to 7.34 million from 2019 to 2023.

However, when everyone chooses to drive on the road

, it makes national highways more prone to traffic jams,

which also makes people less willing to take passenger transport.

As a result, passenger transport operators become trapped in a dilemma

and fall into losses. Can’t Climb Out of the Money Pit

So, is there really nothing we can do

about the above difficulties

? [Is there any solution? 】

In order to save the passenger transport industry,

the current approach of the government

is mainly to "increase fare subsidies"

and "increase driver subsidies"

to find ways to increase incentives and retain talents

so that operators are willing to continue operating

. In May this year, the Ministry of Transport finally decided to

end the 17-year ticket The price freeze

has raised the upper limit of national highway passenger transport fares

, hoping to allow operators to reduce losses.

In addition, many practitioners or scholars

have proposed some solutions.

One of the proposals is to "introduce foreign drivers"

in the hope of training foreign technical migrant workers

to solve the driver manpower shortage. In fact

, the Transportation Bureau has also considered this plan

, but so far

the proposal has not been passed

, and some people are not very supportive of this proposal.

They are worried that if there are too many migrant workers

, it will not raise the driver's salary, which will

not only affect other drivers. Rights and interests

have not fundamentally solved the problem of labor shortage.

Another proposal is "mixed passenger and cargo transportation".

They hope that buses can carry passengers while also

using idle space to transport goods

. This way, they can make more money per trip

. For unpopular routes,

losses can be reduced. Japan

implemented this model

a few years ago

to try to solve the problem of insufficient passenger capacity.

Now the Ministry of Transportation is also considering this plan

and aims to start implementing it this year!

In addition to these proposals, there

are other ideas

such as opening "double-decker passenger transport"

to increase the number of passengers on a single trip, etc.,

which are still under discussion!

[Our point of view]

Before entering the point of view,

I would like to express my special thanks to all members of Zhiqi Qiqi.

With your support and sponsorship

, we can continue to operate this channel

. Moreover, the theme of today’s video

was voted by members. !

So, if you are willing to support us to go further

or have special topics you want to discuss,

you are welcome to join our membership

and discuss the topics of interest

with everyone every month !

Okay, having said that

, after research, we feel that

the declining trend of passenger transport

may not see signs of reversal in the short term

. After all, the high-speed rail operating areas

have been competing for new passenger sources

, and the manpower gap of passenger transport drivers

cannot be more than a few years. It will be resolved within a month.

Then more passenger transport companies we are familiar with may exit

and become tears of the times!

However, although passenger transport seems to be naturally eliminated

in the market competition

, we feel that

it is still very important

to help passenger transport stop the bleeding . After all, even in the recession, passenger

transport still serves 200,000 people every day. The transportation demand

supports the operation of the public road network

and passenger transport It can also penetrate into residential areas and

areas that are beyond the reach of mountain service railways.

Especially for rural areas,

passenger transportation is the "infrastructure" that maintains their daily lives.

For example,

some students living in mountainous areas

only have one passenger transportation to take every morning.

If you accidentally miss the next class

when you go to school, you have to wait until noon

. If passenger transportation is suspended today,

students may only have the option of moving or changing schools

. We often talk about shortening the gap between urban and rural areas

, and "transportation" or passenger transportation

is actually sewing. The key to these gaps!

So maybe at this stage we can all think together about

what else can be done

to help passenger transport continue to operate.

What alternatives are there

if passenger transport really withdraws

? If you have any ideas

, please leave a message below to share!

Finally, I would like to ask you what kind of transportation do you take

when going to other counties and cities

?

Finally, if you like today's video, please share it

to let more people know about "Taiwan's Passenger Transport Suspension Crisis"!

In addition, you can also click here

to see "Taiwan's Illegal Parking Chaos" and "Traffic Congestion Problem".

So today's Zhiqi Qiqi comes to an end here.

See you tomorrow night!