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Freeway traffic declining

The nation’s freeways saw a significant decline in traffic volume in the second season this year, the Taiwan Area National Freeway Bureau said last week.

Statistics showed that traffic volume on all the national freeways was 135.28 million vehicle-times between April and June, a 5.85 percent drop from the previous season.

In comparison with traffic volume during the same season last year, the number also registered a 5.58 percent decrease.

The decline also affected revenue at freeway tolls. The total collected from April to June was NT$521.9 million (US$17 million), causing a shortage of NT$44.7 million in the bureau’s budgeted income during the period. This was a 4.43-percent decrease compared with the same season last year, a shortage of about NT$240 million in toll fee revenue.

Rising gas prices were identified as a key factor leading to the decline in freeway traffic. In April and May, traffic volume reached 46.38 million and 45.95 million vehicle-times respectively. After the government ended the fuel price freeze in May, however, traffic volume dropped 42.95 million in June.

Compared with June last year, traffic also decreased by 8 percent.

Aside from the Chiang Wei-shui Freeway (National Freeway No. 5), both Sun Yat-sen Freeway (No. 1) and the Formosa Freeway (No. 3) have seen a decline in traffic volume, the bureau said.

Toll fees are used to construct new freeways and maintain all the freeways around the nation.

Meanwhile, the National Highway Police Bureau said it would launch alcohol tests on the freeways at the end of this month.

The measure was proposed in the wake of several serious accidents in June, which resulted in 15 deaths and nine injuries.

The bureau said it would focus on vehicles passing through the gates designated for drivers using the electronic toll collection (ETC) system, as some drunk drivers can quickly pass through the ETC gates to avoid the alcohol test.
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