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.
SHIPS, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES: The ministry has announced changes to varied transportation industries taking effect soon, with a number of effects for passengers Beginning next month, the post office is canceling signature upon delivery and written inquiry services for international registered small packets in accordance with the new policy of the Universal Postal Union, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday. The new policy does not apply to packets that are to be delivered to China, the ministry said. Senders of international registered small packets would receive a NT$10 rebate on postage if the packets are sent from Jan. 1 to March 31, it added. The ministry said that three other policies are also scheduled to take effect next month. International cruise ship operators
HORROR STORIES: One victim recounted not realizing they had been stabbed and seeing people bleeding, while another recalled breaking down in tears after fleeing A man on Friday died after he tried to fight the knife-wielding suspect who went on a stabbing spree near two of Taipei’s busiest metro stations, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. The 57-year-old man, identified by his family name, Yu (余), encountered the suspect at Exit M7 of Taipei Main Station and immediately tried to stop him, but was fatally wounded and later died, Chiang said, calling the incident “heartbreaking.” Yu’s family would receive at least NT$5 million (US$158,584) in compensation through the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp’s (TRTC) insurance coverage, he said after convening an emergency security response meeting yesterday morning. National
PLANNED: The suspect visited the crime scene before the killings, seeking information on how to access the roof, and had extensively researched a 2014 stabbing incident The suspect in a stabbing attack that killed three people and injured 11 in Taipei on Friday had planned the assault and set fires at other locations earlier in the day, law enforcement officials said yesterday. National Police Agency (NPA) Director-General Chang Jung-hsin (張榮興) said the suspect, a 27-year-old man named Chang Wen (張文), began the attacks at 3:40pm, first setting off smoke bombs on a road, damaging cars and motorbikes. Earlier, Chang Wen set fire to a rental room where he was staying on Gongyuan Road in Zhongzheng District (中正), Chang Jung-hsin said. The suspect later threw smoke grenades near two exits
The Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency yesterday launched a gift box to market honey “certified by a Formosan black bear” in appreciation of a beekeeper’s amicable interaction with a honey-thieving bear. Beekeeper Chih Ming-chen (池明鎮) in January inspected his bee farm in Hualien County’s Jhuosi Township (卓溪) and found that more than 20 beehives had been destroyed and many hives were eaten, with bear droppings and paw prints near the destroyed hives, the agency said. Chih returned to the farm to move the remaining beehives away that evening when he encountered a Formosan black bear only 20m away, the agency said. The bear
RSS