The Environmental Protection Administration's (EPA) plan to subsidize electrically assisted pedal cycles has generated mixed reactions among the public.
Based on its proposed plan, the administration will give each buyer NT$3,000 as a subsidy for every electrically assisted pedal cycle they purchase. The special offer will expire in November 2009.
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications defined "electrically assisted pedal cycles" as those powered primarily by pedaling and secondarily by electricity.
On the other hand, "electrical bicycles" refer to those powered completely by the electricity.
For both types of bicycles, the maximum operating speed cannot exceed 25kph. The weight of these two types bicycles must be 40kg or below.
The EPA's air quality protection and noise control department said on Tuesday that the measure was meant to be an incentive for substituting the use of gasoline-powered motorcycles with more eco-friendly transportation.
The department also said that the EPA in the past has subsidized buyers of electric motorcycles.
The policy, however, was proven to be ineffective, as a majority of motorists did not find the electrically powered motorcycles to be a practical option.
So rather than subsidizing those purchasing electrical bicycles, the EPA decided to provide financial support only for those buying electrically assisted pedal cycles.
The department said that the EPA has planned to subsidize the purchase of about 4,000 electrically assisted pedal cycles a year.
Lee Chao-yi (
He said buyers of the electrically assisted bicycles are either for those who need to do grocery shopping or those who do not wish to apply for driver's licenses for motor scooters.
While Lee knew that customers who can afford to buy these electrically assisted bicycles probably do not need any subsidy, he noted that they will take advantage of it anyway.
"It's like government-funded allowance for seniors, which is really nothing," he said. "But having something is better than having nothing, right?"
Environmentalists are also dubious about the effectiveness of the measure.
"I appreciate the fact that the government is seriously considering increasing the use of `green transportation tools,'" said Chou Sheng-shin (周聖心), the event coordinator for the Thousand Mile Trail Project. "But my concern is that cyclists have not secured their right of way on the road."
Chou said some shop owners told her that an electrically assisted bicycle could be customized in ways enabling it to run almost as fast as a scooter. She said but unlike motorcyle or scooter owners, those who own an electrically assisted bicycle do not pay raod taxes. Nor are they required to have a driver's license to operate it, she said.
In July, the ministry listed bicycles, electrically assisted bicycles and electrical bicycles under the category of "slow-moving vehicles" in the Act Governing the Punishment of Violation of Road Traffic Regulations (
Among three types of slow-moving vehicles, the ministry has only recognized bicycles and electrically assisted bicycles as legal transportation tools. The ministry has yet to give the right of way for electrical bicycles.
Ying Chen-pong (
Before that happens, Ying said that the ministry will amend traffic regulations and set certifications standards for these electricity-powered bicycles.
In addition to the EPA, other government agencies are coming up with creative proposals to encourage green transportation.
FLU SEASON: Twenty-six severe cases were reported from Tuesday last week to Monday, including a seven-year-old girl diagnosed with influenza-associated encephalopathy Nearly 140,000 people sought medical assistance for diarrhea last week, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said on Tuesday. From April 7 to Saturday last week, 139,848 people sought medical help for diarrhea-related illness, a 15.7 percent increase from last week’s 120,868 reports, CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Deputy Director Lee Chia-lin (李佳琳) said. The number of people who reported diarrhea-related illness last week was the fourth highest in the same time period over the past decade, Lee said. Over the past four weeks, 203 mass illness cases had been reported, nearly four times higher than the 54 cases documented in the same period
A group of Taiwanese-American and Tibetan-American students at Harvard University on Saturday disrupted Chinese Ambassador to the US Xie Feng’s (謝鋒) speech at the school, accusing him of being responsible for numerous human rights violations. Four students — two Taiwanese Americans and two from Tibet — held up banners inside a conference hall where Xie was delivering a speech at the opening ceremony of the Harvard Kennedy School China Conference 2024. In a video clip provided by the Coalition of Students Resisting the CCP (Chinese Communist Party), Taiwanese-American Cosette Wu (吳亭樺) and Tibetan-American Tsering Yangchen are seen holding banners that together read:
Heat advisories were in effect for nine administrative regions yesterday afternoon as warm southwesterly winds pushed temperatures above 38°C in parts of southern Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 3:30pm yesterday, Tainan’s Yujing District (玉井) had recorded the day’s highest temperature of 39.7°C, though the measurement will not be included in Taiwan’s official heat records since Yujing is an automatic rather than manually operated weather station, the CWA said. Highs recorded in other areas were 38.7°C in Kaohsiung’s Neimen District (內門), 38.2°C in Chiayi City and 38.1°C in Pingtung’s Sandimen Township (三地門), CWA data showed. The spell of scorching
UNAWARE: Many people sit for long hours every day and eat unhealthy foods, putting them at greater risk of developing one of the ‘three highs,’ an expert said More than 30 percent of adults aged 40 or older who underwent a government-funded health exam were unaware they had at least one of the “three highs” — high blood pressure, high blood lipids or high blood sugar, the Health Promotion Administration (HPA) said yesterday. Among adults aged 40 or older who said they did not have any of the “three highs” before taking the health exam, more than 30 percent were found to have at least one of them, Adult Preventive Health Examination Service data from 2022 showed. People with long-term medical conditions such as hypertension or diabetes usually do not