Drivers may experience fewer traffic woes or road rage on Taiwan's highways when they rush home for Tomb Sweeping Day on April 5, as measures will be imposed to reduce congestion, transportation officials said yesterday.
The Ministry of Transportation and Communication (MOTC) yesterday announced a host of regulatory measures for the Sun Yat-sen Freeway (
Traffic officials were concerned that many people may use the holiday to take a four-day vacation, thereby increasing traffic loads on the roads.
"Because the Tomb Sweeping Day falls on Tuesday, many people might take Monday off to have four days off in a row," said Administrative Deputy Minister of Transportation and Communications Chang Chia-chu (
Chang said that traffic during the Tomb Sweeping Day holiday is the second heaviest of the year, next only to the Lunar New Year.
Transportation officials also called on the public to take public transportation to reduce the number of vehicles on the roads. From April 1 to April 6, an additional 191 trains will be added to the original schedule to accommodate passengers who are returning home.
"We expect to transport another 20,000 passengers during these six days," said deputy director-general of Taiwan Railway Administration Hsu An-nan (
According to the railway authority, a total of 201,335 tickets have already been booked for the period between April 1 and April 5.
"It is a six-fold increase compared with bookings on weekdays," Hsu said.
On the railway's eastern line, tickets on the weekend before Tomb Sweeping Day are nearly sold out.
"As might be expected, Taiwan's eastern region relies heavily on railway transportation," Hsu said.
Tickets on the western line, which passes through the more densely populated cities, however, are still available.
Local transportation authorities will also offer buses and shuttle services, which will run between suburban graveyards and town or city centers.
"We have asked local bus transport companies to map out the routes. We will see the volume of demand and decide the number of additional bus runs during the holiday. Hopefully, this extra service will attract more passengers and smooth traffic flows," said James J.Y. Chen (
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