The Directorate-General of Highways (DGH) launched a new Web site yesterday as part of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications’ campaign to encourage people to use public transport as much as possible.
Aside from a timeline of how the nation’s public bus system was started in the early 20th century, the Web site shows photographs of the bus tickets offered by different bus operators around the nation in the 1960s, as well as pictures of passengers waiting at bus stations.
The site will also publish articles about highways and public buses in different locations around the nation, including those in Greater Tainan, Greater Kaohsiung, Chiayi, Keelung, Miaoli and the nation’s outlying islands.
DGH Director-General Wu Meng-fen (吳盟分) said highway buses allow people to travel freely around the nation without having to drive.
“All you have to do is pick up your luggage and go,” Wu said. “Instead of having to deal with the hassle of driving, travelers can sit in comfort on the bus and enjoy the beautiful scenery along the way.”
Aerial photographer Chen Ming-ming (陳敏明) and writer Hau Yu-hsiang (郝譽翔) were invited to share their observations about the scenery in Taiwan on land, as well as at sea.
Chen said he often uses the bends along highway routes as a way to confirm locations for shoots.
He added that the nation’s highways have many bends and it would be a spectacular landscape if one could look at them from the ground and from the sky.
Hau said she became interested in sailing two years ago.
“The Taiwan Strait, also known as the ‘Black Ditch,’ poses a threat to boats sailing westward because of its strong north-south ocean current. However, it is one of the sea lanes in the world with the heaviest traffic. When you travel in the strait at night, you can see [beautiful scenes of] fishing boats with their lights on everywhere,” she said.
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