Motorists traveling at night will not have to pay tolls on freeways during the six-day Lunar New Year holiday next month, the national freeway authority said yesterday.
The measure will be implemented during the Lunar New Year holiday period from Feb. 2 through Feb. 7 to manage the expected heavy traffic on the highways, the Taiwan Area National Freeway Bureau said.
The Lunar New Year holiday is the most important traditional festival in Taiwan and is a time of family reunions and celebrations.
The highest volume of traffic is expected on the first and last days of the holiday, the bureau said.
Access control will be implemented on Feb. 2 on the southbound section of Freeway No. 1 between Neihu District (內湖) in Taipei City and Toufen Township (頭份) in Miaoli County, and on the southbound section of Freeway No. 3 between Muzha District (木柵) in Taipei City and Siangshan (香山) in Hsinchu County, the bureau said.
The controls will be in effect from 7am until noon, it said.
During that period, cars carrying fewer than two passengers will not be allowed on these sections of the freeways, it said.
On Feb. 6, from 9am to 3pm, a similar measure will be in place on the northbound section of Freeway No. 1 between Greater Kaohsiung and Neili (內壢) in Taoyuan County, and the northbound section of the Freeway No. 3 Freeway between Jiouju (九如) in Pingtung County and Dasi Township (大溪) in Taoyuan County.
The toll-free period will be from midnight to 7am on all national freeways throughout the six-day holiday, the bureau said.
Meanwhile, the Taiwan Railway Administration (TRA) said a total of 465 extra trains would be provided over the Lunar New Year period between Jan. 31 and Feb. 8 to relieve the traditionally heavy traffic during the holiday period.
While 181 of the trains will be put into operation on the Western Line, passengers using the Eastern Line will have an additional 284 trains to choose from, the TRA said.
“We are putting extra emphasis on the travel needs of those taking the Eastern Line as they have fewer transport alternatives in the region,” TRA Director-General Frank Fan (范植谷) said.
The TRA said the new measures are expected to increase the TRA’s transport capacity during the New Year holiday by 33 percent.
Bureau forecasts show daily traffic during the Lunar New Year could reach 520,000, with the peak travel period likely to fall on Feb. 4, the second day of the Lunar Year.
The TRA will open ticketing services for the holiday period for the Eastern Line on Jan. 13 and the Western Line on Jan. 14.
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