© Alexander Huang・Unsplash License

Taiwan

Kaohsiung

A port city in southern Taiwan. The light rail circles the city centre, and the MRT runs straight to the airport.

Kaohsiung MRT (高雄捷運)

Tap a contactless credit card or phone on the gate's 信用卡 pad and you ride without buying a ticket. The reader has three pads - aim at the wrong one and nothing opens. UnionPay works as credit only, never as debit.

Updated on August 20, 2026

How to ride

  1. 1
    Pick one way to pay
    A contactless bank card, an IC card such as iPASS, or a QR code all cost the same, so you can skip the ticket machine.
  2. 2
    The gate has three separate pads
    Bank cards and phones go on the 信用卡 pad, IC cards on the IC 票卡 pad, QR codes on the 乘車碼 pad.
  3. 3
    Tap out on the same pad
    Exit with the same card or the same screen you entered with, on the same pad.
  4. 4
    Don't come straight back out
    Entering and leaving the same station is charged; only Formosa Boulevard is free within 15 minutes.

Fares

Single fares1

Single ticket (distance-based, whole network)
NT$20 up to 5 km, then +NT$5 per 2 km to 17 km and per 3 km to 20 km, capped at NT$60
20〜60 TWD ≈ $0.6–2

Passes & multi-ride7

Metro 24-hour card
Runs 24 hours from your first tap at a gate; metro only, not the light rail
180 TWD ≈ $6
Metro 48-hour card
The 48-hour version of the same physical card, sold at station service desks
280 TWD ≈ $9
One-day metro pass (QR)
Calendar days, not 24 hours - open it in the evening and it dies at closing time
150 TWD ≈ $5
Two-day metro pass (QR)
The two-day version of the same QR ticket, sold through KKday, Klook and Trip.com
250 TWD ≈ $8
One-day metro + light rail pass (QR)
Adds the light rail, where you don't tap - you show the screen to an inspector instead
200 TWD ≈ $6
Two-day metro + light rail pass (QR)
The two-day version of the same metro-plus-light-rail combination
325 TWD ≈ $10
MeN Go hour card (physical)
24, 48 or 72 hours, sold at metro station service desks with no sign-up
299〜499 TWD ≈ $9–15

Card itself1

iPASS standard card (card price)
The price of a blank card, not a deposit - never refunded, and it buys no fare discount
100 TWD ≈ $3

Estimates use exchange rates as of November 3, 2026

Station ticket/top-up machine; the chart above shows the fare to each station. Taken Jun 2024 © Kevin765432・CC BY-SA 4.0

Payment

Tap to ride
VISAMastercardJCBAmex銀聯
Tap the 信用卡 pad on the gate - on the way in and on the way out
Phone wallet
A phone or watch holding the card uses the same pad; no sign-up, no fee
IC card
At the gates: iPASS, EasyCard and icash all work - but with no discount since November 2024
QR ticketing
At the gates: Use the 乘車碼 pad on the gate; day-pass QR codes go there too
Paper tickets
At the gates: A paper QR ticket, valid only on the day and at the station where you bought it
Cash
At machines: At station ticket/top-up machines and service desks only - never at the gate

Quick facts

Hours
05:55-24:00
Frequency
Every 6-20 min
Fares from
20 TWD+
Every station has a lift; the service desk beside the gates also sells tickets. Taken Jun 2024 © Kevin765432・CC BY-SA 4.0

Heads-up

  • E-scooters can't come into the metro

    Your own e-scooter may neither be carried into metro stations and trains nor ridden inside them. The rule is not a fine but a refusal of carriage - staff can turn you away, or stop your journey mid-way and refund the part you didn't ride. The city ferries are different - switched off and folded, a scooter is allowed aboard - so don't assume one rule covers all of Kaohsiung.

Timetable

Operating hours 05:55-24:00
Typical duration About 50 minutes end to end on the Red Line and 23 on the Orange; the airport, the high-speed rail station and the main railway station all sit on the Red Line
Check the official site for the latest times and service status
Editor Naotaka