According to the Taipei City Government, Mayor Ko Wen-je joined Deputy Mayor Huang Shan-shan and Social Welfare Commissioner Chou Yu-hsiu at the Respecting Elders, Compassion, and Consume press conference on November 8. The mayor announced that Taipei City’s Senior Citizens Card Saving Funds will take effect starting November 15. He also invited award-winning actress Chen Shu-fang to serve as Taipei’s Senior Citizen Card Ambassador, as well as encouraging elders and disabled residents to go out more often with the subsiding of the pandemic.
To encourage senior and disabled citizens of Taipei City to go out and adopt an active lifestyle, the city government will top-up their concessionaire EasyCards with 480 points each month, where 1 point is equivalent to 1 NT. The fund can be used for buses, MRT, taxies, and YouBike, as well as for NT$50 deduction at the gyms at any of the 12 district sports centers.
While the wave of COVID-19 earlier this year forced many elders and disabled individuals to stay home, now with the significant increase in vaccination rate and drop in the number confirmed cases, the city government believes that people should take advantage of this opportunity to leave their homes more often. Ko pointed out that the unused points from the previous months will be added into the aforementioned cards.
Chen Shu-fang, the Taipei’s Senior Citizen Card Ambassador, promoted the new activities. (Photo / Provided by the Taipei City Government)
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The concessionaire card owners can simply bring their registered EasyCard to any of the 4 major convenience stores or Simple Mart and have it scanned by the EasyCard reader between November 15 and December 31, and the NT$1500-worth of funds will be added to their card. They can use the credits to shop at any store that takes EasyCard.
In recent years, the city government has been working on strengthening its digital infrastructure and “Eco-system”, as well as devising a senior citizen economy. It employed big data analysis to identify over 5,000 stores frequented by elders and invited them to join the rank of Senior Citizen-friendly Stores. In the future, these stores will likely offer preferential deals for elders with Senior Citizen Card. The city government also encourage elders to download TaipeiPASS and EasyWallet apps to better enjoy a cash-free lifestyle.
