theceomagazine.com | 81transport alternatives to the tried and tested
scooter, of which more than two million
people (three-quarters of the city’s
population) drive to get to where they need.
For Ho’s sake, he believes it’s the latter.
“Because the Kaohsiung MRT is the first
subway system in the city, the network
is still very weak. Only less than 10 per cent
of people want to use it,” he says.
To encourage locals to use the Kaohsiung
MRT more often, from December 2017
to February this year, KRTC rolled out
a program of free travel during peak hour,
from 6.30am to 8.30am and 4.30pm to
6.30pm on weekdays. In addition, all e-ticket
MRT users were also entitled to take city
buses, highway buses and light rail trains.
The initiative has led to more than nearly
20,000 new people joining the system.
“It’s a good way to persuade people to use
public transportation,” remarks Ho.
Walk through any of the Kaohsiung
MRT’s 38 stations and it asks the question,
why wouldn’t they want to use it? Two of
the stations are largely regarded as some of
the most beautiful in the world. The Formosa
Boulevard and Central Park stations stand out
for their impressive displays of colour; the
former for its ‘Dome of Light’, built by
Italian artist Narcissus Quagliata and the
largest public art installation made from
individual pieces of coloured glass, the latter
for its vast courtyard grass area covered by
yellow windmills in the shape of sunflowers.
On top of building the new Yellow Line
within the next three years (currently there’s
the Red Line, the Orange Line and the
integrated Light Rail), Ho believes the
long-term success of the Kaohsiung MRT
comes down to three things: increasing ticket
revenue, developing the land, and becoming
more of a consultant. Revenue-wise, average
daily ridership across 2016 was at 175,000.
Ho wants that figure to exceed 180,000 by
the end of 2018.
On the land development front, KRTC
has lined up the three depots it owns for
new business opportunities. Last year,
Kaohsiung MRT saw a revenue of NT$300
million from land development. Ho believes
that figure can reach up to NT$400 million
in the near future. As for consulting
opportunities, KRTC recently sent 20 people
to Taipei to learn more about their system
and how they can better cater to customers.
Ho has come a long way since joining
the China Steel Corporation, one of the
major stakeholders of the Kaohsiung MRT,
more than 31 years ago. When he joined
KRTC in 1999, he worked his way through
a number of rotations, including general
affairs, accounting, industry safety and
purchasing. Then a year ago, Ho was
promoted to his current role as president.
Reflecting on his successes towards
becoming the head of KRTC, Ho says
“accountability and teamwork are very
important qualities”. As for effort, he refers
to a technical yet powerful analogy to push
himself, and the organisation, forward.
“Keep multiplying 99 per cent by itself and
you move closer to zero. Keep multiplying
101 per cent by itself and you move closer
to infinity.”“ Keep multiplying 99 per cent
by itself and you move to zero.
Keep multiplying 101 per cent by
itself and you move to infinity.”
“Thanks to the leadership of Chairman Hao and President
Ho, and the high-performing Siemens trains, Signaling and
DC systems, KRTC has become the role model of other
metro systems in Taiwan.” – HK Wang, Vice President,
Mobility Division, Siemens Limited Taiwan