Pingtung County is set to join the growing number of local governments throughout the nation who offer a public bicycle rental system to residents with the launch of the Pbike scheme in September.
The county government said yesterday its public bicycle system would be set up in Pingtung City, the county seat, and offer 450 bicycles for rent from automated kiosks at highly trafficked locations, such as hospitals, schools, parks and transportation hubs.
The system is to be set up and operated by Kaohsiung Rapid Transit Corp (KRTC), which runs the subway system in the neighboring city of Kaohsiung.
Speaking at the announcement of the scheme, KRTC chairman Hao Chien-sheng (郝建生) said that his company has designed a unique kiosk for Pbikes that will use a “smart system” to allow riders to rent or return a bike in just three seconds.
The network is set to link Pingtung County Hall, railway stations, night markets, National Pingtung University of Education and scenic spots along the Wannian River (萬年溪).
At present, public bicycle systems are operating in Taipei, New Taipei City and Greater Kaohsiung. Apart from Pingtung County, three other districts are working on public bike systems — Greater Tainan in the south, and Greater Taichung and Changhua County in central Taiwan.
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