Greater Taichung Mayor Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) on Friday called the municipality’s Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system a fraud after finding that it was plagued with problems.
He said a task force would be established within a month and a report on whether the BRT Blue Line — the only part completed so far — should be torn down would be out within three months.
The BRT Blue Line has been criticized since construction began; Lin made its traffic control center the first work to be examined after his inauguration on Thursday.
The mayor asked to speak with a BRT driver and was shocked to hear that there was no direct communication system between the center and operating buses. The driver — a contractor — informed him that drivers have to use mobile phones to report problems.
Lin also found that the center’s 15 subsystems have not been integrated and that the facility is temporary, as Greater Taichung’s Transportation Bureau is building another location in its Wuqi District (梧棲) that is slated for completion in two years.
Citing the lack of an in-depth inspection before starting service and the sub-par systems in the center, Lin called the BRT a “fraud” used to deceive the public.
A total of NT$4 billion (US$125.99 million) was spent on Blue Line, Lin said, and NT$20 billion more would be required to complete five other planned lines.
Former Taichung mayor Jason Hu (胡志強) yesterday expressed displeasure over Lin’s criticism of the BRT control center.
Lin Liang-tai (林良泰), former head of the local government’s Transportation Bureau, said the BRT transports at least 50,000 riders per day, adding that all systems and contracts are on schedule.
“Dust can be shaken out of even the cleanest blanket,” he said, adding that he could respect Lin’s view only “if [Lin] sees that dust as rocks.”
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