Prices for some folding bikes are lower in Taiwan, since many manufacturers are based or have factories here. Giant, Taiwan's largest bicycle company, sells its cheapest Chinese-made models for NT$3,500. A folder that's sturdy enough to stand up to the stress of a daily commute will probably have been made in Europe or Taiwan and will cost at least NT$20,000 to NT$30,000.
Most Taipei residents who purchase folding bikes aren't buying them to take on public transportation, according to an informal survey of employees at three bicycle shops and ticket booth clerks at several MRT stations. A clerk at the Tai Power Building station said he's only seen two people take folders through the turnstiles, though these two do so regularly.
"If the MRT didn't exist, we would still be selling the same number of folding bicycles," says Liang, the manager at Giant. "In Taipei, people buy folding bicycles because they fit inside their cars."
Even Chiang, who lives in Sindian, doesn't take his Birdy on the MRT. He tried once but found it too much of a hassle because the train was crowded. "It's not convenient," he says. Instead, he rides all the way from Sindian to his office near Taipei City Hall. The 18km trip takes him an hour each way. If it rains, he calls his wife and she drives him and his bike home in her car.
One reason you don't see more Taipei residents using a combination of folding bicycles and public transport to get to work is because many people live a short walk from a bus or MRT station.
Taipei has well-developed bicycle-only tracks that skirt the city, but it lacks similar infrastructure in the city's core where cycling on the street can be dangerous.
In addition, cyclists breathe in more tailpipe exhaust than other commuters. One British study even suggested that the benefits of the extra exercise are negated by filling your lungs with all that cancer-causing pollution.
An annual survey of 1,000 residents conducted by the city's Department of Transportation found that less than three percent of Taipei residents use bicycles as their main form of transportation.
"If Taipei could improve its bike lanes, we'd see more people riding bikes to work. We already see more people riding bikes since they started upgrading the bike lanes on the rivers. If you establish that same kind of network in the city, increase bike access on bridges, and introduce congestion charges, there would definitely be more people riding to work," said Dahon Vice President Josuha Hon (韓安石) in an e-mailed statement.
His company saw its UK sales jump 40 percent after London started charging motorists to enter the city center in 2003, according to Dahon's Web site.
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