A group of motorcyclists plans to call upon 1,500 bikers to gather with their bikes in front of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications on Wednesday to demand that freeways be opened to heavy duty motorcycles.
The National Freeway Bureau (NFB) has previously refused the demand on the grounds that “public opinion polls and local governments are opposed to it.”
Meanwhile, the Far Eastern Electronic Toll Collection Co said that changing the toll-collection system to accommodate heavy bikes would cost taxpayers approximately NT$1.3 billion (US$43.1 million).
Chen Li-yun (陳豊運), chairperson of a national heavy duty motorcycle management trade association, said that since Taiwan joined the WTO in 2002, heavy duty motorcycles — and even “yellow-plate” midrange bikes with engine sizes ranging between 250cc and 550cc — have been imported and licensed, and allowed to be used on expressways, but they still are not allowed on freeways.
Chen said that, according to a resolution passed by the legislature in 2011, the ministry agreed to conduct trial sessions for heavy duty motorcycles to run on certain sections of freeways in a certain time period, but the ministry still has not announced the trial sessions.
When the electronic toll collection (ETC) system began operating late last year it did not even consider motorbikers’ right of way, Chen said, adding that if a system amendment would cost billions, it would become even harder to get permission for heavy duty motorcycles to be used on freeways.
Chen said he understands that the public may have concerns about heavy duty motorcycles, but most bikers are law-abiding citizens.
While cars and motorcycles have the same right of way in some countries, bikers are treated like second-class citizens in Taiwan, he added, and that is why riders of heavy duty motorbikes have no choice but to protest against the situation.
NFB Deputy Director-General Wu Mu-fu (吳木富) said yesterday that the amended article passed by the legislature stipulates a conditional permission for heavy duty motorcycles to run on freeways “according to the ministry’s announcement” of the road sections which can be used during certain time periods.
The reason the ministry has not made any announcement is because public opinion polls and local governments all showed opposition to such a measure, he said.
Wu said that respondents in public opinion polls conducted in the second half of last year opposed opening freeways to heavy motorbikes because they “have bad impressions of heavy duty bikers, who like twisting though traffic, speeding, overtaking and displaying other inappropriate driving behavior,” because of “high accident rates” and because “the time is not right yet.”
Leu Wen-yuh (呂文玉), director of the bureau’s traffic management department, said the polls showed that 60 percent of respondents opposed the opening of freeways to heavy motorbikes, 27 percent conditionally approved (a partial opening of sections of freeways to heavy motorbikes) and 7 percent approved of opening freeways altogether, while the rest had no opinion on the issue.
Meanwhile, FETC spokesperson Rachel Chen (陳世莉) said heavy duty motorcycles were considered when the company tried out its toll-collection gantries, but because the bikes have no license plate in front, rear-view devices costing about NT$1.3 billion would have to be added to the system — and would have to be paid for by the government, because they were not part of the initial contract.
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) today condemned the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) after the Czech officials confirmed that Chinese agents had surveilled Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) during her visit to Prague in March last year. Czech Military Intelligence director Petr Bartovsky yesterday said that Chinese operatives had attempted to create the conditions to carry out a demonstrative incident involving Hsiao, going as far as to plan a collision with her car. Hsiao was vice president-elect at the time. The MAC said that it has requested an explanation and demanded a public apology from Beijing. The CCP has repeatedly ignored the desires
Many Chinese spouses required to submit proof of having renounced their Chinese household registration have either completed the process or provided affidavits ahead of the June 30 deadline, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said on Thursday. Of the 12,146 people required to submit the proof, 5,534 had done so as of Wednesday, MAC deputy head and spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said. Another 2,572 people who met conditions for exemption or deferral from submitting proof of deregistration — such as those with serious illnesses or injuries — have submitted affidavits instead, he said. “As long as individuals are willing to cooperate with the legal
The Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant’s license has expired and it cannot simply be restarted, the Executive Yuan said today, ahead of national debates on the nuclear power referendum. The No. 2 reactor at the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant in Pingtung County was disconnected from the nation’s power grid and completely shut down on May 17, the day its license expired. The government would prioritize people’s safety and conduct necessary evaluations and checks if there is a need to extend the service life of the reactor, Executive Yuan spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) told a news conference. Lee said that the referendum would read: “Do
The Ministry of Environment yesterday held a seminar in Taipei for experts from Taiwan and Japan to exchange their experiences on the designs and development of public toilets. Japan Toilet Association chairman Kohei Yamamoto said that he was impressed with the eco-toilet set up at Daan Forest Park, adding that Japan still faces issues regarding public restrooms despite the progress it made over the past decades. For example, an all-gender toilet was set up in Kabukicho in Tokyo’s Shinjuku District several years ago, but it caused a public backlash and was rebuilt into traditional men’s and women’s toilets, he said. Japan Toilet Association