The free trial period for public bicycle rental at five sites in Taipei City’s Xinyi District (信義) will be extended to the end of this month to encourage the public to use public transportation, the Taipei City Government said yesterday.
Launched on March 11, the system uses 250 “YouBike” bicycles available for rental at the MRT Taipei City Hall Station, the east side of Taipei City Hall, Taipei World Trade Center Exhibition Hall 3, the Xinyi District Office and the sidewalk across from the Grand Hyatt Taipei hotel.
The trial period had been scheduled to end on Friday.
INTEREST
Taipei City Department of Transportation Commissioner Luo Shiaw-shyan (羅孝賢) said the scheme had attracted more than 9,500 people since it was launched.
The department has now extended the free trial period through April 30, Luo said.
Six more rental spots will be opened on Saturday at Taipei World Trade Center Exhibition Hall 1, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall, New York New York Mall, Xinyi Junior High School and on Songren Road in Sanzhangli (三張犁), he said.
RENTAL FEE
Starting on May 1, the fee will be NT$40 for the first 30 minutes and NT$10 for every additional 15 minutes, the department said.
Users can pay with their EasyCard or a credit card, which includes a NT$3,000 deposit.
The deposit will be forfeited if the bike is not returned within 24 hours, Luo said.
EXPANSION
The system was established to encourage the use of bicycles as transit tools between MRT stations, Luo said, adding that the department would expand the system to major MRT stations including Gongguan, Yuanshan and Jiantan, and around top tourist attractions such as the Shilin Night Market.
More information about the bicycle rental service is available at www.youbike.com.tw or by visiting the YouBike Operation Center in front of Exit 3 of the MRT Taipei City Hall Station.
A preclearance service to facilitate entry for people traveling to select airports in Japan would be available from Thursday next week to Feb. 25 at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Taoyuan International Airport Corp (TIAC) said on Tuesday. The service was first made available to Taiwanese travelers throughout the winter vacation of 2024 and during the Lunar New Year holiday. In addition to flights to the Japanese cities of Hakodate, Asahikawa, Akita, Sendai, Niigata, Okayama, Takamatsu, Kumamoto and Kagoshima, the service would be available to travelers to Kobe and Oita. The service can be accessed by passengers of 15 flight routes operated by
GIVE AND TAKE: Blood demand continues to rise each year, while fewer young donors are available due to the nation’s falling birthrate, a doctor said Blood donors can redeem points earned from donations to obtain limited edition Formosan black bear travel mugs, the Kaohsiung Blood Center said yesterday, as it announced a goal of stocking 20,000 units of blood prior to the Lunar New Year. The last month of the lunar year is National Blood Donation Month, when local centers seek to stockpile blood for use during the Lunar New Year holiday. The blood demand in southern Taiwan — including Tainan and Kaohsiung, as well as Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Taitung counties — is about 2,000 units per day, the center said. The donation campaign aims to boost
ENHANCING EFFICIENCY: The apron can accommodate 16 airplanes overnight at Taoyuan airport while work on the third runway continues, the transport minister said A new temporary overnight parking apron at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport is to start operating on Friday next week to boost operational efficiency while the third runway is being constructed, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday. The apron — one of the crucial projects in the construction of the third runway — can accommodate 16 aircraft overnight at the nation’s largest international airport, Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Shih-kai (陳世凱) told reporters while inspecting the new facility yesterday morning. Aside from providing the airport operator with greater flexibility in aircraft parking during the third runway construction,
American climber Alex Honnold is to attempt a free climb of Taipei 101 today at 9am, with traffic closures around the skyscraper. To accommodate the climb attempt and filming, the Taipei Department of Transportation said traffic controls would be enforced around the Taipei 101 area. If weather conditions delay the climb, the restrictions would be pushed back to tomorrow. Traffic controls would be in place today from 7am to 11am around the Taipei 101 area, the department said. Songzhi Road would be fully closed in both directions between Songlian Road and Xinyi Road Sec 5, it said, adding that bidirectional traffic controls would
RSS