《TAIPEI TIMES 焦點》 Railway Act amendment targets ticket scalpers

By Chen Yu-fu, Cheng Wei-chi and William Hetherington / Staff reporters, with staff writer

The Legislative Yuan on Friday passed an amendment to the Railway Act （鐵路法）, raising the maximum penalties for people convicted of scalping train tickets to five years imprisonment and/or a NT$3 million fine （US$94,846）.

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The amendment was in response to difficulties reported by people trying to buy tickets for east coast services, particularly for holidays, when tickets can quickly sell out.

Scalpers and tour group operators often use fake identities to buy additional tickets, which can result in as many as 1 million illegitimate purchases in a year, a Taiwan Railways Administration （TRA） representative said.

The TRA said that from January to last month police investigated 153 cases involving people using a false identity or software to buy multiple tickets to sell for profit.

Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Cheng Yun-peng （鄭運鵬） proposed an amendment to Article 65 of the Railroad Act, which would make anyone involved with fraudulent ticket purchases or online reservations legally accountable for their actions.

Cheng’s proposal also called for increased fines.

The amendment increased fines from two to 10 times the cost of the ticket being illegally sold to five to 30 times the ticket cost.

Illegally reselling a NT$783 ticket on the Tzu-Chiang line would bring a maximum fine of NT$23,490, which TRA officials said they hope is high enough to deter would-be scalpers.

A Taitung resident surnamed Chen （陳） said he was happy with the increased fines, but said tickets would still be difficult to purchase during holidays, as many of them go to tour groups.

“From the second they go on sale at midnight it is literally a ‘flash sale,’” Chen said, adding that he hopes more tickets can be made available at peak travel times so people can get home.

“This is a supply problem that fines cannot solve,” a Hualien resident surnamed Wang （王） said. “All the people of Hualien want is to be able to buy tickets.”

The TRA said the new law adds fines for pedestrians and vehicles that trespass on railway property, including tracks, tunnels, bridges and off-limits platform areas.

Fines have been raised from between NT$1,500 and NT$7,500 to between NT$10,000 and NT$50,000, the TRA said, adding that the agency is no longer financially responsible for injury or death of passengers who fail to adhere to the rules as it was in the past.

Additional reporting by Yu Tai-lang and Chang Tsun-w

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES