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Taipei targets NTU's bike problem

To resolve the chaotic parking of bikes around the outside and inside of the National Taiwan University (NTU) campus, Taipei's Parking Management Office will start removing bicycles parked in non-designated areas starting today.

Cheng Chun-min (鄭俊明), director of the office, said that bikes had been found illegally parked on sidewalks, blocking the way of pedestrians and obstructing bus stops, on Roosevelt Road, Xinsheng South Road and Xinhai Road.

Bike removals will start today and notices have been put up inside and outside the campus to remind teachers and students, Cheng said.

To tackle the parking chaos, the Cycling Lifestyle Foundation had suggested that the university set up a bike-rental service on campus.

Old bikes

Chien Chin-hsun (簡進勳), executive director of the foundation, said that there are currently more than 30,000 bikes on the NTU campus, many of which were old and had been abandoned by school graduates.

Many students were worried about their bikes being stolen, and therefore rode old or poor-quality bicycles, Chien said.

The foundation is discussing the possibility of a bicycle rental service at the university but no decisions have been reached yet.

Rental service

"At first, the university was worried that this kind of service would turn the campus into some sort of tourist spot," Chien said.

"But we suggested that having a rental network on campus available only to students and teachers would resolve a lot of the current bicycle management problems," Chen added.

Students could rent a bike for a low price for one day and ride it around campus to attend different classes, he said.

The bikes would be well-managed, be of better quality and students would not have to worry about theft, he added.

NTU students were mixed about the proposal.

"A rental service would cause a huge queue each morning," said Chang Yi-hsuan (張懿萱), a senior. "Bikes are meant for us to rush to class and rush to hand in our papers. Nobody has the time to line up."

Another student, Chia De-yang (賈德揚), said the service would still cause bicycles to pile up at MRT station exits and dorms.

But Tsai Pei-hsuan (蔡佩璇), also a senior, said she was glad to see the school finally realizing her dream of a bike rental service on campus.
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