Minister of Transportation and Communications Kuo Yao-chi (
Kuo was responding to an appeal by the Consumers' Foundation that all lanes be open to all vehicles to ease the congestion at freeway toll collection stations.
"The ministry has studied the option and found it not to be feasible," Kuo said, adding that if the ETC-exclusive lanes were to be open to all vehicles, there could be chaos and confusion.
Since the formal launch of the ETC system on Feb. 10, public discontent with the system has increased because of congestion in the non-ETC lanes at the tollbooths.
At a press conference earlier yesterday the foundation urged that the ETC-only lanes be open to other vehicles on holidays.
Foundation chairman Jason Lee (
"With heavy traffic on holidays, a freeway could just turn into a big parking lot," he said.
The foundation is setting up a public forum at its Web site (www.consumers.org.tw) to solicit comments from the public to provide a reference for the government, he said.
News reports have said that the ministry is planning to talk with the Far East Electronic Toll Collection Co about possible changes to its contract to operate the electronic toll-collection system on freeways.
The ministry will ask the company to work to increase the ETC-only lanes' user rate to 4 percent at all toll stations within three months or face losing one ETC-dedicated lane in each direction at toll stations.
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
CHANGES: After-school tutoring periods, extracurricular activities during vacations or after-school study periods must not be used to teach new material, the ministry said The Ministry of Education yesterday announced new rules that would ban giving tests to most elementary and junior-high school students during morning study and afternoon rest periods. The amendments to regulations governing public education at elementary schools and junior high schools are to be implemented on Aug. 1. The revised rules stipulate that schools are forbidden to use after-school tutoring periods, extracurricular activities during summer or winter vacation or after-school study periods to teach new course material. In addition, schools would be prohibited from giving tests or exams to students in grades one to eight during morning study and afternoon break periods, the
AMENDMENT: Contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau must be reported, and failure to comply could result in a prison sentence, the proposal stated The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) yesterday voted against a proposed bill by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers that would require elected officials to seek approval before visiting China. DPP Legislator Puma Shen’s (沈伯洋) proposed amendments to the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), stipulate that contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau should be reported, while failure to comply would be punishable by prison sentences of up to three years, alongside a fine of NT$10 million (US$309,041). Fifty-six voted with the TPP in opposition
Advocates of the rights of motorcycle and scooter riders yesterday protested in front of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications in Taipei, making three demands. They were joined by 30 passenger vehicles, which surrounded the ministry to make three demands related to traffic regulations — that motorcycles and scooters above 250cc be allowed on highways, that all motorcycles and scooters be allowed on inside lanes, and that driver and rider training programs be reformed. The ministry said that it has no plans to allow motorcycles on national highways for the time being, and said that motorcycles would be allowed on the inner