Taipei: Taiwan Railway Corp. (TRC) has announced its decision to discontinue the special discount tickets for children with disabilities starting June 23, as part of a revised fare policy. The decision marks the end of the "Love Children Ticket," which currently offers a 75 percent discount to children aged 6 to 12 holding a Disability Identification Card.

According to Focus Taiwan, a TRC official revealed that the primary reason behind eliminating the discount is that children already benefit from existing fare reductions. Despite the discontinuation, children will still be eligible to purchase half-price tickets. The official mentioned that while TRC has previously absorbed the cost of the additional discount, continuing the program in the future would necessitate government funding.

TRC's Passenger Transportation Contract stipulates that passengers eligible for multiple discounts can only apply one discount at a time, unless otherwise specified. This policy change has prompted reactions from advocacy groups and parents.

Chou Shu-ching from the Disabled Children's Rights and Advocacy Association shared her perspective, stating that many parents were unaware of the special discount until informed by others. Chou conducted a survey and found that around 30 parents reported using the special ticket at least three times a week, primarily for medical and rehabilitation visits.

Chou noted that the usage of the "Love Children Ticket" has decreased significantly from over 100,000 users to about 30,000 since its inception, suggesting that the financial impact on TRC should be lessening. She advocated for the continuation of the discount program to alleviate the financial burden on families raising children with disabilities.