About 3 million vehicles hit the roads yesterday on the second day of the Lunar New Year, the day when married daughters return to their parents’ home (Hui Niang Jia), packing several sections of the nation’s highways, the National Freeway Bureau said.
“We estimate that the traffic volume will fall between 2.7 million and 2.9 million vehicle-times,” said Lu Wen-yu (呂文玉), the bureau’s Traffic Management Division vice director, adding that if so, the amount would be 500,000 more than the first day of the Lunar New Year.
The bureau said the first wave of vehicles had been expected to appear from 8am to 12am as some families headed to the homes of wives’ parents, and others headed for amusement parks or recreation areas.
Photo: Luo Pei-der, Taipei Times
Despite the cold, rainy weather in northern Taiwan, vehicles began packing the southbound lanes on the freeways at about 8am, causing average traffic speed to drop to about 30kph at some sections. Traffic congestion between Taoyuan’s Jhongli (中壢) and Neili (內壢), reduced the average speed to as slow as 15kph for a period of time.
Traffic monitoring in the morning showed more cars were heading south, and the congested sections were shortened around midday, the bureau said at noon.
Bureau officials said another wave of cars going north was expected to begin showing up after 3pm.
“We estimate that there will be some waves of cars going north in the afternoon, with sections from Siluo (西螺) to Yuanlin (員林) on Freeway No. 1, from Jhongtou (中投) to Caotun (草屯) on Freeway No. 3, and from Toucheng (頭城) to Pinglin (坪林) Freeway No. 5 being sections that may move slowly,” Traffic Management Division director Hsu Fu-Shen (徐福聲) said.
To ease traffic during the Lunar New Year period, the bureau has implemented toll-free hours between 12am and 7am, and allowed usage of the hard shoulder at more than 20 sections of the freeways.
The bureau estimated that the traffic volume today may even exceed yesterday’s numbers and suggested motorists make use of the toll-free period to get on the freeways before 7am, take alternative roads, or check the online traffic control information before hitting the road, to prevent getting stuck in traffic jams.
‘WEAK POSITIVE’: The man arrived in Taiwan in May and was quarantined for two weeks, Chen Shih-chung said, adding that he might be infected a long time ago The government is considering tightening mask-wearing rules again in light of a potential domestic COVID-19 infection, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) said yesterday. The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) confirmed seven new COVID-19 cases, six of which are imported. The other case involves a Belgian engineer who entered Taiwan on May 3 and remained in quarantine until May 17, said Chen, who heads the CECC. Although the source of infection has yet to be identified, the case could end the nation’s record of not having any domestic cases in the previous 110 days. The Belgian, in his 20s, is a technician
BRIBERY CASE: President Tsai Ing-wen accepted Su Jia-chyuan’s resignation as he said that he deeply regretted causing trouble for the president due to the investigation Presidential Office Secretary-General Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全) yesterday resigned after his nephew, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Su Chen-ching (蘇震清), was implicated in a bribery case related to a dispute over the ownership of Pacific Sogo Department Store (太平洋崇光百貨). “I resigned from the post so that President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) would not be bothered by it anymore, and the prosecutors can investigate the case in a fair and just manner. I thank President Tsai once again for supporting me. May the country continue to prosper under her leadership,” Su Jia-chyuan said in a statement. The Presidential Office said that Tsai has accepted
‘INCREASINGLY FAVORED’: Taiwan’s ‘transparent laws and efficient courts’ as well as its financial institutions give it a major advantage to become a financial hub, Tsai said Taiwan would liberalize banking and investment rules to establish itself as a regional financial hub, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) told the Taiwan Capital Market Forum in Taipei yesterday. Recent world events could be an opening for Taiwan to become an international center for business investments and financial management, Tsai said at the forum, which was organized by the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the sister publication of the Taipei Times). “We’re facing unknowns in the world right now, including the continuing impact of US-China trade tensions and the reorganization of the global supply chain after COVID-19,” Tsai said. “These bring new challenges and opportunities.” Tsai
ALEX AZAR: The first visit by a head of the Department of Health and Human Services would strictly observe the CECC’s special regulations, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said US Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Alex Azar is to lead a delegation to Taiwan — the highest-level visit by a US Cabinet official since the two sides cut formal relations in 1979. The plan was announced yesterday morning by the US Department of Health and Human Services and confirmed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA). Beijing has expressed its concerns to Washington, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Wang Wenbin (汪文斌) said later yesterday. Taiwan and the US only issued statements saying that the visit would happen “in the coming days.” MOFA said that due to security concerns, it would
RSS