Maybe it was me–I got hot with them once lol.
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Nah there’s no issue there that I know of.
In theory. In practice, not so much. For example, the Postident still doesn’t work for a lot of non-EU foreigners.
In Australia it differs between states, though is similar. In the State of NSW anyone over 60 can get a Seniors Card as long as they are a “Permanent Resident of NSW” (Just what that means I am not sure - it does not say “Australia” for which Permanent Residency is the equivalent of a Taiwan APRC). So at the very least, if they have the equivalent of an APRC they can get a Card, of which there are two types depending on how many hours of paid work per week calculated over the past year. The under 20 hours ones also get a “Gold Opal Card” for use on Public Transport and are not charged any more than $2.50 (TWD50) for a days travelling.
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Hiya folks,
Many thanks for the general support and especially to those half dozen that took a look at the sheet.
My impression is that we would need to have more than one hundred entries for this to make a meaningful impact.
Is there anyone out there who might be willing to add some more, perhaps using online research to contribute for cities other than your own?
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In Germany many cities have own rules, but overall they are similar.
Elderly starts at 60 or 65 no residency required. Disability discount when resident will reside longer then 6 month.
I could create dozens of entries for different cities but essentially they are the same, not discriminating foreign residents.
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I added the entry for Leipzig (/Mitteldeutscher Verkehrsverbund) following what @fifieldt wrote, just because I knew the MDV website and it seemed it would provide more support to the argument to have multiple cities listed rather than a single country entry (even if it’s fairly standard across a country).
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Added NZ to the list. I bet you what really happened was a few government members went traveling and weren’t eligible because they WEREN’T EFFING LIVING THERE!!! Got all upset and came back and denied it for all ARC and APRC holders…
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Reciprocity doesn’t always work. It’s like Israelis burning Germans alive because Hitler. Taiwan should do it for it’s own sake, because it’s the right thing to do and it will make Taiwan more attractive to immigrants. People that stay here long term and pay taxes must have access to the exact same benefits as citizens. Especially since we pay more in taxes on average than the average Taiwanese.
Probably more of a case they literally forget foreigners exist in Taiwan. Remember we had the whole debacle with YouBike registration update that didn’t allow any foreigners across Taiwan from doing a new registration and it went on for a while with BS excuses and Mayor Ko even called them in to get it fixed pronto rather than the month or so BS they initially stated.
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That was an issue with the insurance company actually… Their policy only covered citizens… Luckily it was fixed. However, what many ignorant foreigners don’t know… they weren’t insured for a few months…
What company?
added Turin and Milan for Italy, which are the cities with the most developed (and functional) transit systems. Rome unfortunately links all the discounts to the income. and wouldn’t use it as example since the transit there is shameful.
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Just add in everything. We need a big list to make these idiots lose face
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No. Only free to citizens, spouses of citizens and students who bind their EasyCard to their ID.
However… if you’re a tax paying long term APRC resident… no free buses for you. But it’s OK… I will just drive my car and scooter everywhere and order taxi/uber when needed. Up your lungs Taiwan!
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That was my take on it too. Cut me off a service, enjoy my tailpipe smoke.
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Exactly. My 3.5 litre Murano. I could take the bus to the park as it would take the same time. Or… I could make the most of the fuel Tax I pay for. I use roughly 4,000NTD of gas a week… (mostly only myself in the car) UP YOUR LUNGS!
But hey… At least you can get the discount that ALL non tax paying visitors and visitors from overseas can get by using an easycard!
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The government know they were discriminating. All they needed to do is say that foreigners that live in Taichung show proof at the registry office and they can get a card. They literally just batched all foreigners in one bucket and said T.S.
I Emailed to complain and it got nowhere.
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It was to get those dirty migrant workers off the buses as they were a main user and people complained that they didn’t pay license plate tax (the thing funding the free bus scheme)
Either way… I’ll make the most of my taxes paid and get my moneys worth by driving my car as much as possible.
Sometimes I leave my car on idle and use the bus stops as temporary parking spaces so I get use out of the bus system
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I had a similar reaction when I was interested in a new scooter and found out the Gogoro only had subsidies for Taiwanese, no foreigners. Went out and got a new gas scooter.
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