Taipei City Government officials stressed on Monday that the Maokong Gondola is safe after last Saturdays technical glitch left more than 300 passengers stranded in mid-air for over an hour. Meanwhile, the Taipei Rapid Transit Corporation said on Monday that it will offer an NT$1,000 compensation package to the trapped passengers.Lee Ssu-chuan, director of the Taipei Bureau of Public Works New Construction Department, told reporters that the problem was an isolated incident. "The cable car system is safe, and the TRTC does not have any plans to suspend service," Lee was quoted as saying to the Central News Agency.

Lee noted that the public has high expectations for the Maokong Gondola. "As a matter of fact, the Maokong Gondola is just like a vehicle; a vehicle unavoidably breaks down. Unlike other gondolas in the world, the gondola in Taipei functions 11 hours every day, which is very rare," said Lee.

Tsai Hui-sheng, president of the TRTC, said at a news conference on Monday that the TRTC was extremely sorry that passengers were left trapped in the cable cars. Besides offering two free rides on the cable cars, Tsai said that the TRTC would offer two MRT tickets worth NT$300, a souvenir set worth NT$350, an NT$120 water bottle, an NT$99 mobile phone accessory and an NT$89 magnet set.

When asked by reporters if the compensation is reasonable, Chen Po-ching, a consumer protection official working in the city government, noted that he respects the decision made by the TRTC. However, Chen added that he personally thought that affected passengers should be offered a little more than the NT$1,000 compensation package. "Those left suspended in mid-air on such a hot day must have felt extremely scared. When considering both the mental and physical pain the passengers must have felt, I think they deserve a little more than the NT$1,000 compensation," he was quoted as saying by the Central News Agency.

Despite last Saturdays technical glitch, the number of people taking the skyrail seems to have remained the same. There were about 100 people waiting in line for the gondola on Monday afternoon. According to the TRTC, more than 10,000 passengers had taken the gondola between noon to 8 p.m. on Sunday. The number of people who took the skyrail this Sunday and last Sunday was about the same, the TRTC said, adding that over 340,000 passengers have taken the cable cars since they officially began service on July 4.

"It is OK if the cable car is suspended in the air, just as long as it does not fall from the sky. It could be interesting, though. However, the cable cars cannot be suspended for a long time, otherwise passengers will get heatstroke," said a passenger, surnamed Huang, who was waiting in line for a gondola ride.