Few people make use of public transport, a survey by the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) showed, with ridership on the nation’s public transportation system hovering at just 13 percent.
The survey, conducted between Oct. 6 and Dec. 18 last year, showed that a majority of respondents preferred to drive a car or scooter when traveling. Of the 24,943 valid samples collected, 49 percent said they ride scooters, while 23 percent said they drive cars.
More women make use of public transportation at 17 percent, compared with men, with only 9.9 percent doing so.
When asked why they did not use public transport, respondents cited “inconvenience” as the No. 1 reason. “Living far from the nearest station or stop” and “living close to the destination” were the second and third main reasons.
The survey also found that Taipei City topped other cities and counties in terms of public transportation use, scoring a high 34 percent. It was followed by Keelung City, Taipei County and Taoyuan County, with utilization rates reaching 29.4 percent, 24.9 percent and 11.9 percent respectively.
Those that scored below 5 percent included Hualien County, Penghu County, Taitung County, Tainan City, Chiayi County and Yunlin County. Chiayi City ranked last with only 2.5 percent.
The findings, released on Thursday, came two days after MOTC Minister Mao Chi-kuo (毛治國) said the ministry was budgeting NT$15 billion (US$467 million) on a three-year project to improve the public transportation system nationwide.
Last month, the ministry rejected plans from several counties to build MRT or light-rail systems. Mao said the ministry would continue to use strict standards to evaluate each proposal.
“The government has to be responsible for the operation of railway systems,” Mao said at the time. “Billions in losses will soon occur if the railway system does not carry sufficient passengers to sustain its operation.”
Rather than subsidizing the debt-ridden railway system, Mao said the subsidy would be put to better use developing the public bus system.
He said many places still lacked a good “public transportation system,” adding that what they need is a “public” and not “mass” transportation system. The two are different modes of transportation, he said.
Chi Wen-chung (祁文中), director-general of the ministry’s Department of Railways and Highways, said NT$4.5 billion would be allocated for the first-year of the project. About NT$2 billion will be used to subsidize the bus routes in remote areas and as cross-subsidies for different transportation systems.
He added that the rest of the budget would be spent on specific projects, such as developing “door-to-door” networks from the high speed rail stations and Taiwan Railway Administration stations, he said.
In other news, Kaohsiung City’s Transportation Bureau announced that passengers taking taxis in the city during the Lunar New Year holidays will be charged an additional NT$50.
The measure will apply from Feb. 12 — one day before the Lunar New Year holidays begin — to Feb. 18, the bureau said.
Free bus rides will be provided from Feb. 13 to Feb. 18, the bureau said, adding that residents and visitors to the city could also use the city’s public bikes for free during the holidays.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY FLORA WANG
A 72-year-old man in Kaohsiung was sentenced to 40 days in jail after he was found having sex with a 67-year-old woman under a slide in a public park on Sunday afternoon. At 3pm on Sunday, a mother surnamed Liang (梁) was with her child at a neighborhood park when they found the man, surnamed Tsai (蔡), and woman, surnamed Huang (黃), underneath the slide. Liang took her child away from the scene, took photographs of the two and called the police, who arrived and arrested the couple. During questioning, Tsai told police that he had met Huang that day and offered to
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
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
BETTER SERVICE QUALITY: From Nov. 10, tickets with reserved seats would only be valid for the date, train and route specified on the ticket, THSRC said Starting on Nov. 10, high-speed rail passengers with reserved seats would be required to exchange their tickets to board an earlier train. Passengers with reserved seats on a specific train are currently allowed to board earlier trains on the same day and sit in non-reserved cars, but as this is happening increasingly often, and affecting quality of travel and ticket sales, Taiwan High-Speed Rail Corp (THSRC) announced that it would be canceling the policy on Nov. 10. It is one of several new measures launched by THSRC chairman Shih Che (史哲) to improve the quality of service, it said. The company also said
RSS