The data collected from eTags — an electronic device used to pay toll fees on the nation’s freeways — has helped the freeway authority forecast the travel times and regulate traffic using more effective measures, according to the National Freeway Bureau.
The electronic toll collection system for all freeways was launched on Dec. 30, 2013.
There are 319 toll fee-collecting gantries on freeways and more than 8.9 billion transactions were recorded as of last month, Bureau Deputy Director-General Wu Mu-fu (吳木富) said.
Wu said that this data has helped the bureau map patterns of freeway users, adding that it can be further analyzed and calculated to enhance the efficiency of freeway traffic management and research for better techniques to regulate it.
By analyzing the routes of drivers, the bureau knows which freeway ramps should be closed when there is traffic congestion, Wu said, adding that the data can also help the bureau determine toll fees for the launch of the differential toll fee scheme. The scheme is to charge peak-hour toll fees on certain freeway sections, Wu said.
Based on the information collected, the bureau can also forecast traffic situations at a specific time, Wu said.
The bureau tried using the data to forecast the travel time between Taipei and Kaohsiung, as well as between Nangang (南港) and Suao (蘇澳), at different hours of day on some of the nation’s major holidays, including the Dragon Boat Festival, Moon Festival and Double Ten National Day, Wu said.
The proposed use of eTags, operated by Far Eastern Electronic Toll Collection Co, to pay for parking fees, still needs to secure the approval of lawmakers, Wu said.
“Legislators fear the use of eTags for parking would lead to job losses for those tending parking lots, just as freeway toll fee collectors lost their jobs when the government launched the electronic toll collection system,” Wu said.
“They want us to study the business potential and the problems of producing invoices if people are able to pay their parking fees using eTags,” Wu added.
To allay lawmakers’ doubts, Wu said that allowing people to pay parking fees using eTags would not cause job losses, but only make toll collectors’ jobs easier, as staff could scan the bar code on the eTags, rather than having to key in license-plate numbers.
The company would also be able to provide invoices for transactions paid by eTag, Wu said.
The first two F-16V Bock 70 jets purchased from the US are expected to arrive in Taiwan around Double Ten National Day, which is on Oct. 10, a military source said yesterday. Of the 66 F-16V Block 70 jets purchased from the US, the first completed production in March, the source said, adding that since then three jets have been produced per month. Although there were reports of engine defects, the issue has been resolved, they said. After the jets arrive in Taiwan, they must first pass testing by the air force before they would officially become Taiwan’s property, they said. The air force
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday said it had deployed patrol vessels to expel a China Coast Guard ship and a Chinese fishing boat near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. The China Coast Guard vessel was 28 nautical miles (52km) northeast of Pratas at 6:15am on Thursday, approaching the island’s restricted waters, which extend 24 nautical miles from its shoreline, the CGA’s Dongsha-Nansha Branch said in a statement. The Tainan, a 2,000-tonne cutter, was deployed by the CGA to shadow the Chinese ship, which left the area at 2:39pm on Friday, the statement said. At 6:31pm on Friday,
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, would pose a steep challenge to Taiwan’s ability to defend itself against a full-scale invasion, a defense expert said yesterday. Institute of National Defense and Security Research analyst Chieh Chung (揭仲) made the comment hours after the PLAN confirmed the carrier recently passed through the Taiwan Strait to conduct “scientific research tests and training missions” in the South China Sea. China has two carriers in operation — the Liaoning and the Shandong — with the Fujian undergoing sea trials. Although the PLAN needs time to train the Fujian’s air wing and
STRIKE: Some travel agencies in Taiwan said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group tours to the country were proceeding as planned A planned strike by airport personnel in South Korea has not affected group tours to the country from Taiwan, travel agencies said yesterday. They added that they were closely monitoring the situation. Personnel at 15 airports, including Seoul’s Incheon and Gimpo airports, are to go on strike. They announced at a news conference on Tuesday that the strike would begin on Friday next week and continue until the Mid-Autumn Festival next month. Some travel agencies in Taiwan, including Cola Tour, Lion Travel, SET Tour and ezTravel, said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group
RSS