Motorists driving on freeways during the New Year holidays can calculate their estimated travel time with the help of the new Intelligent Transportation System (ITS), the Taiwan Area National Freeway Bureau said yesterday.
Kang Jhy-fu (康志福), deputy director of the bureau’s traffic management department, said motorists would be able to check online (1968.nfreeway.gov.tw) for the estimated travel time between two freeway interchanges or between two toll booths before leaving home.
They can also have a look at the traffic through online video feeds before deciding which route they should take.
“Once they are driving on the freeway, they can get updated information through electronic billboards installed along the way,” Kang said.
Taking the Hsinchu Interchange as an example, where Freeway No. 1 and Freeway No. 3 converge, Kang said that drivers in the northbound lanes would be able to decide which freeway to take with the help of the traffic information displayed on electronic billboards.
The billboards currently only warn motorists when there are traffic problems or heavy fog up ahead.
But the ITS will enable the billboards to show where there is heavy traffic and the estimated time needed to travel to reach the next interchange.
It will also inform drivers about information such as toll-free hours during the holidays.
Kang said the ITS was functioning at 76 electronic billboards and that the bureau was scheduled to have approximately 100 billboards across the country ready by the New Year holidays.
Approximately 300 are expected to be running before the Lunar New Year holidays, which begin on Jan. 25.
Kang said the bureau planned to improve the ITS by informing drivers when the shoulder of the road is open during heavy traffic and offering a traffic information-exchange system and automatic surveillance of the traffic in the tunnels.
The new services are scheduled to begin by May.
Meanwhile, Kang said that motorists could access the latest traffic information through global-positioning-system (GPS) devices. The bureau has provided traffic control information to the nation’s GPS service providers free of charge.
The ITS only monitors the traffic on seven freeways and 12 expressways on the West Coast.
In related news, the bureau said yesterday that all freeways would would be toll free from next Friday to Sunday between the hours of 12am and 7am to facilitate traffic flow.
In addition, the shoulder roads between Taoyuan and Jhongli (中壢) and between Sanying (三鶯) and Dasi (大溪) will be open to traffic during the holidays.
The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Wanda-Zhonghe Line is 81.7 percent complete, with public opening targeted for the end of 2027, New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said today. Surrounding roads are to be open to the public by the end of next year, Hou said during an inspection of construction progress. The 9.5km line, featuring nine underground stations and one depot, is expected to connect Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall Station to Chukuang Station in New Taipei City’s Jhonghe District (中和). All 18 tunnels for the line are complete, while the main structures of the stations and depot are mostly finished, he
The first global hotel Keys Selection by the Michelin Guide includes four hotels in Taiwan, Michelin announced yesterday. All four received the “Michelin One Key,” indicating guests are to experience a “very special stay” at any of the locations as the establishments are “a true gem with personality. Service always goes the extra mile, and the hotel provides much more than others in its price range.” Of the four hotels, three are located in Taipei and one in Taichung. In Taipei, the One Key accolades were awarded to the Capella Taipei, Kimpton Da An Taipei and Mandarin Oriental Taipei. Capella Taipei was described by
Taipei is to implement widespread road closures around Taipei 101 on Friday to make way for large crowds during the Double Ten National Day celebration, the Taipei Department of Transportation said. A four-minute fireworks display is to be launched from the skyscraper, along with a performance by 500 drones flying in formation above the nearby Nanshan A21 site, starting at 10pm. Vehicle restrictions would occur in phases, they said. From 5pm to 9pm, inner lanes of Songshou Road between Taipei City Hall and Taipei 101 are to be closed, with only the outer lanes remaining open. Between 9pm and 9:40pm, the section is
The Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Vancouver, Canada, on Saturday hosted a reception to celebrate Double Ten National Day. Conservative Canadian lawmaker Marc Dalton called Taiwan a “beacon of courage and resilience in the face of rising authoritarianism,” according to a post on the Taiwan in Vancouver Facebook page. Also in attendance were fellow conservative caucus members Tako Van Popta and Chak Au, who said that Taiwan plays an “indispensable role” in ensuring global peace, prosperity and stability due to its strategic position in the Indo-Pacific region, it said. Canadian lawmaker Michael Cooper also recorded a message wishing Taiwan a
RSS