Taiwan weighs adding e-scooters to transit pass amid crisis

TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Two forces are converging on Taiwan's electric scooter industry: mounting losses that operators can no longer absorb, and a cash-strapped transit system that may lack the resources to rescue them. Transport Minister Chen Shih-kai (陳世凱) said Wednesday (May 6) that integrating shared scooters into TPASS is "worth discussing." For companies watching their market collapse, that guarded response may not be enough.

Chen told the Legislative Yuan (立法院), Taiwan's parliament, that shared scooters could become "a very important piece of the puzzle" for solving public transit's last-mile problem. He acknowledged it was the first time he had heard the proposal, but said local governments could submit plans to the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (交通部) for discussion.

The proposal came from Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷), a legislator from the opposition Kuomintang (KMT, 國民黨). He argued that adding shared scooters to TPASS would expand commuters' travel radius beyond what YouBike, the public bicycle system, currently offers. He estimated Taiwan has 20,000 to 30,000 shared scooters, concentrated in the Taipei metropolitan area and Taoyuan.

Hung suggested an add-on pricing model where TPASS holders would pay an additional monthly fee for shared scooter access, with usage-based billing. He said he may convene a public hearing to build consensus among central and local governments and industry operators. The key challenges, he added, are budget allocation, implementation mechanisms and operators' willingness to participate.

An Industry in Financial Freefall
The proposal emerges as Taiwan's electric scooter industry faces a financial reckoning — compounded by a policy environment that critics say hastens its decline. Since the U.S.-Iran War began on Feb. 28, Taiwan has spent an estimated NT$13.2 billion (around US$421 million) subsidizing gasoline to maintain Asia's lowest fuel prices. The subsidy shields consumers from global oil shocks but also erases the cost advantage that once made electric scooters attractive.

KYMCO (光陽), Taiwan's second-largest motorcycle manufacturer, notified its Ionex electric scooter owners in March that they would be forced onto new, higher-priced contracts when their two-year terms expire. The company acknowledged the changes were driven by losses in its energy services division.

Monthly subscription fees for Ionex users will rise by NT$9 to NT$10 (around US$0.29 to US$0.32), while overage charges will increase from NT$50 to NT$52 per kilowatt-hour (around US$1.59 to US$1.66). Samuel Wu (伍桓廷), Ionex's general manager, cited rising costs for station maintenance, land acquisition, electricity and battery replacement. The fee increases follow Gogoro's 2022 decision to discontinue unlimited riding plans, though that change grandfathered existing users. KYMCO's approach is more aggressive: riders who purchased scooters with "lifetime free basic fee" promotions will lose those benefits when contracts expire.

Industry analysts have interpreted KYMCO's moves as a signal that the company may be preparing to exit the electric scooter market entirely. The sales data supports this reading: as of April, Gogoro held approximately 72.7 percent of Taiwan's electric scooter market, while KYMCO's Ionex brand held just 12.3 percent. KYMCO's i-One Fly model sold only 71 units in April. The company's chairman, Ko Chun-pin (柯俊斌), told Business Today (今周刊) magazine in March that KYMCO has "no plans for new EV models."

The shared scooter market is already consolidating. WeMo (威摩科技), Asia's largest shared electric scooter platform, recently ordered 3,000 Gogoro VIVA MIX scooters worth more than NT$200 million (around US$6.4 million) after KYMCO declined to continue their partnership. Ko told Business Today that the previous arrangement, which shifted battery costs to KYMCO, was unsustainable.

Hung framed the TPASS proposal partly as a response to industry concerns that the government's "oil-electric equality" subsidy policy has shifted support away from electric vehicles. Chen denied that the government was "abandoning electric for oil," emphasizing that Taiwan's 2050 net-zero emissions target remains a priority.

Transportation experts expressed cautious support. Chiu Yu-chiun (邱裕鈞), a professor of transportation and logistics management at National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University (陽明交大), told the China Times (中國時報) that shared scooters could fill gaps where buses do not operate. He noted that shared scooters have lower accident rates than privately owned motorcycles, attributed to speed limits and more cautious riding behavior.

Local government responses have varied. Hsieh Ming-hung (謝銘鴻), Taipei's transportation bureau director, said officials should first clarify whether shared scooters qualify as public transit under TPASS definitions. Kaohsiung's transportation bureau expressed optimism, noting the city's MeNGo monthly pass had previously partnered with shared electric scooter operators. But the TPASS system itself faces budget pressures: Chen acknowledged that loyalty rebates under TPASS 2.0 have gone unpaid for three months, with approximately NT$27.03 million (around US$861,000) in accumulated rewards.

The two forces have not yet collided — but they're closing fast. Taiwan's electric scooter industry needs government integration to survive; the government hasn't decided whether shared scooters even belong in its transit system. Chen's "worth discussing" buys time, but time is precisely what operators don't have. For now, KYMCO is raising fees. WeMo has abandoned its longtime supplier. And in April, KYMCO's i-One Fly averaged fewer than three sales per day — in a market Taiwan once hoped would lead Asia. ◼ (At time of reporting, US$1 equals approximately NT$31.38)