The company that won the contract to operate a self-service bicycle rental system in Kaohsiung City complained yesterday it has been in deficit since the system was launched about three months ago by the city government.
When the service was introduced in March, there were 1,500 bikes available for rent at 20 locations throughout the city, but the number has since grown to 4,500 bikes at 50 locations, said city government official Wu Chia-an (吳家安), who supervises the bike rental system.
However, Tung Li Development Co chief executive Yeh Chi-chung (葉致中) said operating expenses and depreciation costs have reached an estimated NT$1 million per month, while its monthly revenue is less than half of that amount.
Although more rental locations would help to boost business, the higher costs associated with expansion should also be taken into account, Yeh said.
In response, Wu first praised Tung Li Development Co, which was commissioned by the government to operate the system over the next five years, for abiding by the contract. He then urged the company to come up with programs to better advertise the service and help increase business.
The city government's tracking the rental service's performance found that there are usually about 100 bicycle rentals per day on weekdays and about 700 per day on weekends and holidays, Wu said.
The figures suggest that most bicycle rentals in the city were for leisure purposes rather than for commuting, Wu said. He urged the company to step up advertising to encourage people to use bicycles for travel over short distances to help cut carbon dioxide emissions.
The city government will also keep a close watch on whether rentals will rise with the increased number of stations, he said.
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
UNDER PRESSURE: The report cited numerous events that have happened this year to show increased coercion from China, such as military drills and legal threats The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) aims to reinforce its “one China” principle and the idea that Taiwan belongs to the People’s Republic of China by hosting celebratory events this year for the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, the “retrocession” of Taiwan and the establishment of the UN, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said in its latest report to the Legislative Yuan. Taking advantage of the significant anniversaries, Chinese officials are attempting to assert China’s sovereignty over Taiwan through interviews with international news media and cross-strait exchange events, the report said. Beijing intends to reinforce its “one China” principle
A total lunar eclipse, an astronomical event often referred to as a “blood moon,” would be visible to sky watchers in Taiwan starting just before midnight on Sunday night, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said. The phenomenon is also called “blood moon” due to the reddish-orange hue it takes on as the Earth passes directly between the sun and the moon, completely blocking direct sunlight from reaching the lunar surface. The only light is refracted by the Earth’s atmosphere, and its red wavelengths are bent toward the moon, illuminating it in a dramatic crimson light. Describing the event as the most important astronomical phenomenon
RSS