Department of Information and Tourism, Taipei City Government

“Ximen!” From now on, you can purchase single-journey MRT tickets with your voice! The first voice-operated ticketing machine in the domestic railway industry will commence service at MRT Zhongshan Station on March 11. Passengers only need to follow on-screen instructions and say the Chinese name of the station they wish to travel to, or the station’s code in English, to purchase the ticket. The first voice-operated ticketing machine in the domestic railway industry will commence service at MRT Zhongshan Station for a trial period of 6 months, during which the passengers’ feedback on the voice-activated user interface will be gathered for future reference and application!

To provide passengers with more diverse ticketing options, Taipei Rapid Transit Corporation (TRTC) has unveiled the voice-operated ticketing machine, a new innovative high-tech service. The most important aspect of the voice-operated ticketing machine is precise speech recognition; therefore, engineers have conducted countless tests during development, and microphones equipped with noise-canceling technology minimize noise around the station to identify the travelers’ voices accurately.

As for stations with similar pronunciations, such as Zhongshan Station and Songshan Station or Xinpu Station and Xingfu Station, special attention has been paid to fine-tuning the system to increase identification accuracy. Tests have demonstrated that the system has an accuracy of more than 70%, and the feedback of passengers will be collected during the trial period for future reference.

Operating the voice-operated ticketing machine is easy, just follow the on-screen instructions. First, touch the “Purchase Ticket” option on the screen, and the system will enter the voice ticketing mode; next, speak your desired station name clearly to the black microphone above the screen (for instance, passengers intending to travel to Ximen Station should say “Ximen (Station)”); follow the instructions and say the number of tickets you wish to purchase, confirm your purchase and insert the money required to complete the purchasing procedure!

Moreover, the screen provides Chinese and English instructions for the convenience of foreign travelers, who may speak out the English station code on the map to effortlessly purchase their tickets. For example, if you wish to buy 2 tickets to MRT Ximen Station, simply say “BL Eleven (BL11 is the code of Ximen Station), two tickets, confirm” to complete the process. It’s that easy!

Passengers are reminded to follow the instructions on the screen and say the station name or English code clearly so that the voice-operated ticketing machine can recognize your instructions accurately.

The voice-operated ticketing machine will begin service at MRT Zhongshan Station (near exit no. 4) starting on March 11 for 6 months. Passenger feedback regarding the voice-activated user interface will be collected during the trial period for future reference.

For additional details, please contact the TRTC’s 24-hour customer service hotline (02) 218-12345 and 1999 Taipei Citizen Hotline (for callers outside of Taipei, please dial 02-27208889) or refer to the company’s official website (https://www.metro.taipei/).