The verdict issued by the Taipei High Administrative Court on Friday that deprived the Far Eastern Electronic Toll Collection Co of its priority status as installer of the nation's first electronic toll-collection (ETC) system has proved an embarrassment for the government and the contractor, and raised more uncertainties for motorists. The ruling has hurt the government's credibility and casts uncertainty over the future use of the build-operate-transfer (BOT) model.
Unlike the current toll system, where motorists have to brake to a stop at the toll plaza and hand over a ticket or cash to a tolltaker, the high-tech ETC system allows motorists to roll past a toll booth while a roadside sensor identifies the vehicle and performs an electronic transaction on a pre-paid account.
This type of system has become increasingly popular in other countries in recent years, and is worthy of support if it can increase toll lane capacity and reduce motorists' waiting times.
But the ETC system was plagued with problems even before the NT$10 billion (US$307.7 million) BOT project was awarded in February 2004 to Far Eastern, a joint venture headed by Far Eastone Telecommunications Co and Austria's Efkon AG.
Because of the business opportunities the project was thought likely to generate, more than NT$300 billion according to some estimates, there was much debate over which technology would perform best -- microwave or infrared technology. Far Eastern chose infrared. However, the whole project subsequently became mired in allegations of corruption -- including charges that standards were lowered to suit the chosen contractor -- and judicial authorities are still investigating several legislators, Ministry of Transportation and Communications officials and representatives of ETC providers.
When Far Eastern launched the service earlier this month more chaos ensued. Consumers complained that the system's vehicle on-board units (OBUs) were too expensive and threatened to boycott the service.
During the Lunar New Year holiday, the system almost paralyzed heavy holiday traffic because few vehicles were equipped with OBUs and therefore able to use the exclusive lanes set aside for the service.
The government has said it is considering appealing Friday's ruling to the Supreme Administrative Court. If it loses the appeal, it may either reopen the tender or abandon the BOT model and run the system itself.
The government's pledge to safeguard the rights of motorists regardless of the result of the appeal is welcome news, but at the same time, it's potential move to take over the system and use taxpayers' money to run the project is a concern.
In the face of the government's persistent budget deficits, how is it that it suddenly believes there may be sufficient funds to run the project, when it originally adopted the BOT model to save taxpayers' money?
A second concern is that the government has said it may buy back Far Eastern's toll facilities if its appeal fails. However, it's not clear that Far Eastern's infrared technology is the best solution. It is only suitable for single-lane toll collection, not the multi-lane free-flow toll collection that microwave technology can serve.
The government has been trying to minimize the damage in the wake of Friday's ruling. At the least, it should learn the lesson that it needs to increase the transparency of screening processes for future BOT projects.
Unfortunately, taxpayers are the ultimate losers in this project. It remains to be seen whether a more reasonable ETC system can be devised out of the ruins of the current mess.
When US budget carrier Southwest Airlines last week announced a new partnership with China Airlines, Southwest’s social media were filled with comments from travelers excited by the new opportunity to visit China. Of course, China Airlines is not based in China, but in Taiwan, and the new partnership connects Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport with 30 cities across the US. At a time when China is increasing efforts on all fronts to falsely label Taiwan as “China” in all arenas, Taiwan does itself no favors by having its flagship carrier named China Airlines. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is eager to jump at
The muting of the line “I’m from Taiwan” (我台灣來欸), sung in Hoklo (commonly known as Taiwanese), during a performance at the closing ceremony of the World Masters Games in New Taipei City on May 31 has sparked a public outcry. The lyric from the well-known song All Eyes on Me (世界都看見) — originally written and performed by Taiwanese hip-hop group Nine One One (玖壹壹) — was muted twice, while the subtitles on the screen showed an alternate line, “we come here together” (阮作伙來欸), which was not sung. The song, performed at the ceremony by a cheerleading group, was the theme
Secretary of State Marco Rubio raised eyebrows recently when he declared the era of American unipolarity over. He described America’s unrivaled dominance of the international system as an anomaly that was created by the collapse of the Soviet Union at the end of the Cold War. Now, he observed, the United States was returning to a more multipolar world where there are great powers in different parts of the planet. He pointed to China and Russia, as well as “rogue states like Iran and North Korea” as examples of countries the United States must contend with. This all begs the question:
In China, competition is fierce, and in many cases suppliers do not get paid on time. Rather than improving, the situation appears to be deteriorating. BYD Co, the world’s largest electric vehicle manufacturer by production volume, has gained notoriety for its harsh treatment of suppliers, raising concerns about the long-term sustainability. The case also highlights the decline of China’s business environment, and the growing risk of a cascading wave of corporate failures. BYD generally does not follow China’s Negotiable Instruments Law when settling payments with suppliers. Instead the company has created its own proprietary supply chain finance system called the “D-chain,” through which
RSS