The number of people using Taipei’s YouBike system was higher than expected on Wednesday, the first day a new system of rental fees went into effect, the city government said.
There were 17,338 YouBike rentals recorded between 6am and noon on Wednesday, about 20 percent fewer than the same period a day earlier, officials said.
The usage was still 10 percent better than anticipated, Department of Transportation division head Liu Chia-yu (劉嘉祐) said.
However, short-term fluctuations do not represent consumer behavior, Liu said, adding that further analysis is needed.
Starting on Wednesday, YouBike users are charged NT$5 for the first half-hour, which was previously free. The fees for rental beyond 30 minutes remain the same: NT$10 per half-hour for the next three-and-a-half hours, NT$20 per half-hour for the next four hours and NT$40 per half-hour after that.
New Taipei City, which has its own bicycle rental system, continues to offer the first 30 minutes of use for free.
The Taipei City Government said that as of October last year, total ridership since the system was implemented had surpassed 30 million.
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