Taiwan trains and transit cards: EasyCard, high-speed rail passes and booking

Buy an EasyCard for everything except high-speed rail. Going from Taipei to Tainan or Kaohsiung and back? Buy a THSR Pass: it costs less than two full-fare tickets.

How are you travelling?

• Around one city: buy an EasyCard at any convenience store, for NT$100 plus credit. It covers the metro, buses, local trains and YouBike. On the Taipei Metro, a contactless bank card or phone works too.
• Taipei to Taichung and back: buy single high-speed rail tickets: NT$675 each way non-reserved, less with an early-bird fare.
• Taipei to Tainan or Kaohsiung and back: buy a THSR Pass (opens in a new tab), NT$2,500 for any two days in seven. Two non-reserved tickets cost NT$2,610 to Tainan and NT$2,890 to Zuoying, Kaohsiung.
• Several high-speed rail trips in three days: buy the three-day THSR Pass, NT$2,200.
• Down the east coast by Taiwan Railway: book seats 28 days ahead, at midnight Taiwan time. Puyuma, Taroko and EMU3000 trains are reserved-seat only.
• To sights off the rail lines: take the Taiwan Tourist Shuttle from the station. See Riding buses and the Tourist Shuttle.

Non-reserved fares are from THSR (opens in a new tab).

If it doesn’t go to plan

• High-speed rail seats sold out? Ride non-reserved: tickets are sold on the day and valid on any train that day.1THSR (opens in a new tab)en.thsrc.com.tw
• Missed the early-bird fares? For a return to Tainan or Kaohsiung, the THSR Pass still costs less than two full fares.
• Puyuma or Taroko Express sold out? Take local trains on your EasyCard. No reservation needed, just slower.
• EasyCard out of credit? Top up at any convenience store or metro station.
• Card rejected after a bus or train ride? A missed tap has probably locked it. Go back to that bus company, or to a station counter for trains, to unlock it.2New Taipei Transportation Department, June 2026 (opens in a new tab)traffic.ntpc.gov.twTaiwan Railway (opens in a new tab)railway.gov.tw

Booking high-speed rail

• Tickets open 29 days ahead, counting the travel day. If that falls on a Friday or Saturday, sales open the following Sunday.3THSR (opens in a new tab)en.thsrc.com.tw Set a reminder.
• Early-bird fares are 35%, 20% or 10% off, on a limited number of seats per train. Buy them on the THSR website or T Express app, with your passport number, up to five days before travel.4THSR (opens in a new tab)en.thsrc.com.tw
• Early-bird tickets are tied to that passport. Carry it on the train: without it you pay the full fare plus a 50% penalty on the difference. The passport number can’t be changed after booking.5THSR (opens in a new tab)en.thsrc.com.tw
• Students: the student fare is only for students at Taiwanese universities.6THSR (opens in a new tab)en.thsrc.com.tw

Using a THSR Pass

• Foreign visitors only. NT$2,200 for three days in a row, or NT$2,500 for any two days in seven.7THSR Pass (opens in a new tab)pass.thsrc.com.tw
• Book seats free online up to an hour before departure.
• Collect the pass at a station counter with your passport.

Using an EasyCard

• Buy it at 7-Eleven, FamilyMart, Hi-Life or OK Mart, and top up there or at any metro station.8Tourism Administration (opens in a new tab)eng.taiwan.net.tw
• It doesn’t work on high-speed rail. Only EasyCard-branded credit cards from Taiwanese banks do.9THSR (opens in a new tab)en.thsrc.com.tw
• On local trains, tap in and out; no reservation needed.
• On Tze-Chiang and Chu-Kuang trains it works too, without a seat. On Puyuma, Taroko, EMU3000 and tourist trains it counts as riding without a ticket: you pay the fare plus 50%.10Taiwan Railway (opens in a new tab)railway.gov.tw
• Taipei Metro also takes bank cards since 1 July 2026: contactless Visa, Mastercard, JCB, Discover and Diners Club, and Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay.11Taipei Times (opens in a new tab)taipeitimes.com
• Skip TPASS. It’s a commuter rebate scheme for cards registered to residents.12EasyCard (opens in a new tab)easycard.com.tw

Riding buses and the Tourist Shuttle

• Wave the bus down as it approaches the stop, or it may not stop. Ring the bell early for your stop.13Taipei bus passenger rules, February 2026 (opens in a new tab)www-ws.gov.taipeiTaiwan Tourist Shuttle (opens in a new tab)taiwantrip.com.tw
• Pay with a transit card or coins. Buses take an EasyCard, iPASS or icash, or exact cash, with no change given.14Taipei bus passenger rules, February 2026 (opens in a new tab)www-ws.gov.taipeiTaiwan Tourist Shuttle (opens in a new tab)taiwantrip.com.tw Taipei’s buses don’t take the bank cards the metro accepts.15Taipei Times, December 2025 (opens in a new tab)taipeitimes.com
• Tap on and off. Taipei and New Taipei buses charge one section as you board and any extra as you get off.16Taipei Department of Transportation (opens in a new tab)english.dot.gov.taipei On Tainan’s trunk and branch buses, tapping both times makes the first stretch free.17Tainan City Bus (opens in a new tab)2384.tainan.gov.tw
• A missed tap can lock your card. A card locked on an intercity bus won’t work on other intercity buses until the company that locked it unlocks it; the metro and Taipei’s city buses still take it.18New Taipei Transportation Department, June 2026 (opens in a new tab)traffic.ntpc.gov.tw On Taiwan Railway, a trip with no tap-out stops you at the next gate until station staff charge the missing fare.19Taiwan Railway (opens in a new tab)railway.gov.tw
• Live arrivals: in Taipei, the Taipei eBus (opens in a new tab) site, in English.20Taipei Public Transportation Office (opens in a new tab)pto.gov.taipei For intercity buses, and city buses in 15 counties and cities, the Highway Bureau’s iBus (opens in a new tab) site and app.21Highway Bureau (opens in a new tab)taiwanbus.tw In Kaohsiung, the city’s i-bus app.22Kaohsiung Bus (opens in a new tab)kbus.com.tw
• The Taiwan Tourist Shuttle runs from Taiwan Railway and high-speed rail stations to the main sights.23Tourism Administration (opens in a new tab)eng.taiwan.net.tw Look for buses painted with a white, yellow and red map of Taiwan.24Taiwan Tourist Shuttle (opens in a new tab)taiwantrip.com.tw
• Every Tourist Shuttle route charges its own fare, by card, payment app or cash, and some run only at weekends and on holidays.25Taiwan Tourist Shuttle (opens in a new tab)taiwantrip.com.tw7322 route (opens in a new tab)taiwantrip.com.tw Check live positions on its E-BUS page (opens in a new tab).26Taiwan Tourist Shuttle (opens in a new tab)taiwantrip.com.tw
• Passes are sold route by route, such as NT$950 for Sun Moon Lake’s bus, boat and ropeway, or NT$60 for a day on Yilan’s Jiaoxi route. See the passes page (opens in a new tab).

Booking Taiwan Railway

• Tickets open at midnight, 28 days ahead, counting the travel day.27Taiwan Railway (opens in a new tab)railway.gov.tw
• Book from abroad on the English booking site and pay by Visa, Mastercard or JCB within two days.
• Collect tickets at a station counter with your passport and booking code, at a convenience store, or in the app.
• Unlimited travel: the TR-PASS (opens in a new tab) costs NT$2,400 for 3 days or NT$3,200 for 5. You still need to reserve seats on reserved-only trains.

If you have big luggage

• High-speed rail limit per bag: 150 cm long, 220 cm length plus width plus height, and 40 kg.28THSR (opens in a new tab)en.thsrc.com.tw Every car has a large-luggage area.29THSR (opens in a new tab)en.thsrc.com.tw
• At Taipei Main Station, lockers and a luggage room are on B1 and B2, open 06:00 to midnight.30Taiwan Railway (opens in a new tab)tip.railway.gov.tw
• Changing at Taipei Main Station: reach the Taiwan Railway gates from high-speed rail’s B1 or B3 level.31THSR (opens in a new tab)en.thsrc.com.tw