TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taipei Rapid Transit Corporation (TRTC) has given a female passenger a fine of NT$15,000 (US$517) for fare evasion and assaulting a transit worker, CNA reported.
The fine includes NT$7,500 for five instances of fare jumping on the MRT (NT$1,500 per infraction) and NT$7,500 for slugging a station worker. The NT$7,500 fine was the heaviest the company has ever issued to a violator for fare jumping, according to the report.
The incident arose when a Taipower Building Station worker spotted a female passenger tailing closely behind another passenger on the night of March 13 while exiting the turnstile. The station worker went to check the passenger’s ticket, but instead of complying with the worker’s request, the passenger physically attacked the worker, shouting that the TRTC had no right to check her tickets.
In response, the station called police to the scene, and only then did the passenger produce three tickets, all of which bore no records of entering or exiting MRT stations, per CNA.
TRTC official Lin Jung-huei (林榮輝) said surveillance footage showed the passenger in question often changes her appearance and avoids payment by following someone else through the turnstile. Nevertheless, the company recognized her as a repeat offender.
Article 50 of the Mass Rapid Transit Act prohibits passengers from taking the MRT without having their tickets checked and from coming and going through undesignated areas. Violators can be fined up to NT$4,500.
Article 49 stipulates against passengers riding the MRT without tickets or using invalid or fraudulent tickets. Violators will be asked to buy the ticket and be fined 50 times the original fare.