Discussion On-going on Allowing Eating on Trains: MOTC 因應中秋節連假 雙鐵"梅花座"下鬆綁飲食?

Train tickets for the upcoming Moon Festival are in high demand since the alert has been downgraded, leading the website to crash when the presale started.

Rail tickets for the Mid-Autumn Festival long weekend went on sale at midnight on Aug. 20. The reservation system crashed within three minutes, leading to a torrent of complaints.

Citizen1:” We gave up.”

Citizen2:”There are fewer train runs now, so I'm trying to leave earlier and come back on a weekday.” 

According to Taiwan Railways Administration, 136,000 tickets were sold by 9 a.m., including all available Tzu Chiang Express tickets between Taipei and Taitung, and Taipei and Kaohsiung. Meanwhile, 63,000 high-speed rail tickets were sold in the first four minutes they became available, and 152,000 sold in the first 15 minutes. As of 8:30 a.m., over 195,000 tickets had been booked.

Lin Hsiu-juan, Officer, Transportation Department, TRA:” There is a quota on the number of tickets available for the Mid-Autumn Festival long weekend, which is 70 percent of available seats.” 

Taiwan Railways Administration says its checkerboard seating and no-eating policies currently remain in place but the Central Epidemic Command Center may lift the restrictions.

Chi Wen-jong, Transportation and Communications Administrative Deputy Minister: ”Transportation is important, but epidemic prevention is more important. We've held one meeting internally to come up with important discussion points to raise with the CECC.”

Taiwan Railways Administration says it will maintain a ridership quota of 70 percent capacity, which equates to 350,000 tickets during the holiday. The high-speed rail, meanwhile, has lowered its quota to 70 percent capacity

台鐵20號零時，開放中秋節連續假期訂票，沒想到12點一到，網頁版以及手機版，竟出現長達三分鐘"無法訂票"，大當機情況，不少民眾抱怨根本搶不到票，只能放棄。

民眾1：「兩台手機兩台電腦，可是還是就是它會...就是一直轉那個畫面這樣子。可能太多人在搶，我們就放棄了。」

民眾2：「現在減班嘛，然後減班以後其實班次就少，只能提早回去，然後平日就回去這樣。」

台鐵表示，截至上午9點為止，已賣出13.6萬多張，其中東部幹線，臺北往返臺東，長途自強號已全數售完，西部幹線部份，臺北往返高雄，長途自強號也全數銷售一空。另外，高鐵搶票情況也誇張，系統開放訂票4分鐘，就賣出6.3萬張，開放15分鐘，已賣出超過15.2萬，截至上午八點半，已售出超過19.5萬張。

台鐵運務處營業科專員 林秀娟：「中秋節連續假期，車票是以總量管制為主，那販售的上限，是每列車種座位數的七成。」

台鐵表示，因應防疫規定，目前車內暫不開放飲食，座位採"類梅花座"，至於外傳，指揮中心正評估，是否可在"梅花座"下鬆綁飲食。交通部表示仍在討論中。

交通部次長 祁文中：「疏運重要，但是防疫是更重要。因部內開過一次會，要大家把需要盤點出來，因為有合理的論述提到指揮中心，才有辦法去確定嘛。」

台鐵表示，目前開放購票車位，上限七成，約35萬張座位。高鐵也嚴格控管，座位降載,至七成，造成返鄉民眾一位難求情況。