Taipei MRT Suspends Free Wi-Fi Service|不敵電信499吃到飽 北捷WiFi停止服務
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Taipei MRT announced on June 25 that it will suspend its Wi-Fi service. The internet provider says ever since telecommunication companies offered the NT$499 unlimited data plan, Wi-Fi usage rate on the MRT has been too low to make it cost-effective.
Many people are used to be on their phones when they take the MRT. The Taipei MRT had also provided a Free-AD-WiFi service since May of last year to accommodate passenger's needs. Taipei Mayor Ke Wen-Je even demonstrated how to connect to this WiFi service when it came online. However, with the service being online for only over a year, the service provider announced that it cannot cover the operating costs and had suspended service in the afternoon of June 25.
I don't need to use Wi-Fi. But it is convenient for the tourists. People in Taiwan generally have unlimited data plans.
The Wi-Fi service provider on Taipei MRT, Full Lin Industrial expressed that the free-WiFi is supported by watching advertisements to cover the operating costs. However with all the 499 unlimited data plans offered by the telecommunication companies, the usage rate is low therefore we had to quit.
No, not yet. It's the first day so I haven't really tried anything yet. We just use this one.
Never, because I have the 4G, buy the SIM card from Thailand so I have the internet all the time.
The tourists who were interviewed said they brought their own Wi-Fi machine or SIM card. Tourism operators also said that many tourists or group tours can rent the Wi-Fi service machine at the airport or charter car service.
Sometimes the rental car company will offer Wi-Fi service on the car as well.
According to the Taipei MRT, it is estimated that there are about 70,000 people who use the Free MRT Wi-Fi in a day. This number only accounts for 3.6 percent of its daily 2.1 million riders. The Taipei MRT said that although the Wi-Fi service is no longer provided within the carriages, some passenger information center still offers TPE-Free Wi-Fi services.
許多人搭乘捷運時習慣低頭滑手機，北捷也在去年5月推出Free-AD-WiFi 來滿足乘客的上網需求。剛推出時台北市長柯文哲還親自示範如何連WiFi，但這項服務才推出一年多，廠商卻無預警宣布不符營運成本，25號週二下午中斷訊號停止服務。
民眾 葉小姐表示：「我不需要用到WiFi，但是有WiFi這種設施，給觀光客方便，因為台灣人普遍都會有吃到飽。」
北捷網路業者全林實業表示，提供的免費WiFi是透過觀看廣告的營收，來支撐營運成本，但遇到各家電信公司推出低價499網路吃到飽，造成民眾使用率低，只好忍痛退場。
菲律賓觀光客表示：「沒用過(捷運WiFi)，這是我們第一天，很多東西還沒嘗試，我們使用這個(WiFi機)。」
泰國觀光客表示：「沒使用過，我用在泰國買的SIM卡，一直都有網路。」
受訪的觀光客說都自備WiFi機、買SIM卡。旅行業者也表示，許多觀光客在機場、或是團客包車都有提供網路租借服務，可以取代。
旅行商業同業公會副理事長 呂中豪表示：「有的時候甚至在車上，租賃車上都會提供WiFi，給他們使用。」
根據北捷統計，使用捷運免費WiFi的人數一天平均約7萬人次，僅占平均日運量210萬人次的3.6%。北捷公司表示，除車廂內暫停WiFi服務外，北捷目前部分站內空間旅客詢問處仍有TPE-Free可使用。
