A new freeway traffic forecasting system is set to be introduced next year to provide motorists more precise and real-time information on travel conditions, the National Freeway Bureau said.
The forecasts, which will be incorporated into the newly launched electronic toll system, will be able to analyze quickly the traffic flow on freeways and give drivers a heads-up, bureau Deputy Director-General Wu Mu-fu (吳木富) said.
The freeway forecast will be more accurate than a weather forecast, Wu said.
The new toll collection system, which charges motorists based on the distance traveled instead of tollbooth collection points they pass through, was launched in December last year. The use of tollbooths was replaced with an automated system that scans each vehicle’s electronic toll collection (ETC) tag when it enters and exits Freeway No. 1, No. 3 or No. 5.
With the help of the system, the bureau can quickly process the more than 13 million transactions — or vehicles registered on the freeways — each day to predict traffic conditions on weekdays and weekends, Wu said.
For example, the system will be able to tell the bureau how many vehicles are on which section of the freeways at any given time. It can then relay the information to motorists, Wu said, adding that parts of the project is still under development.
Since vehicles will be examined based on the codes assigned to them — instead of their license plates — motorists need not be concerned about privacy leaks, Wu said.
The original match-up details will be used by the company operating the electronic toll collection system, and the data the bureau receives will be encoded, Wu added.
Any third party trying to access that information needs to apply for it, he said, without elaborating.
Alain Robert, known as the "French Spider-Man," praised Alex Honnold as exceptionally well-prepared after the US climber completed a free solo ascent of Taipei 101 yesterday. Robert said Honnold's ascent of the 508m-tall skyscraper in just more than one-and-a-half hours without using safety ropes or equipment was a remarkable achievement. "This is my life," he said in an interview conducted in French, adding that he liked the feeling of being "on the edge of danger." The 63-year-old Frenchman climbed Taipei 101 using ropes in December 2004, taking about four hours to reach the top. On a one-to-10 scale of difficulty, Robert said Taipei 101
Nipah virus infection is to be officially listed as a category 5 notifiable infectious disease in Taiwan in March, while clinical treatment guidelines are being formulated, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. With Nipah infections being reported in other countries and considering its relatively high fatality rate, the centers on Jan. 16 announced that it would be listed as a notifiable infectious disease to bolster the nation’s systematic early warning system and increase public awareness, the CDC said. Bangladesh reported four fatal cases last year in separate districts, with three linked to raw date palm sap consumption, CDC Epidemic Intelligence
US climber Alex Honnold left Taiwan this morning a day after completing a free-solo ascent of Taipei 101, a feat that drew cheers from onlookers and gained widespread international attention. Honnold yesterday scaled the 101-story skyscraper without a rope or safety harness. The climb — the highest urban free-solo ascent ever attempted — took just more than 90 minutes and was streamed live on Netflix. It was covered by major international news outlets including CNN, the New York Times, the Guardian and the Wall Street Journal. As Honnold prepared to leave Taiwan today, he attracted a crowd when he and his wife, Sanni,
Two Taiwanese prosecutors were questioned by Chinese security personnel at their hotel during a trip to China’s Henan Province this month, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. The officers had personal information on the prosecutors, including “when they were assigned to their posts, their work locations and job titles,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said. On top of asking about their agencies and positions, the officers also questioned the prosecutors about the Cross-Strait Joint Crime-Fighting and Judicial Mutual Assistance Agreement, a pact that serves as the framework for Taiwan-China cooperation on combating crime and providing judicial assistance, Liang
RSS