The Tainan City Government yesterday disputed satellite navigation firm TomTom NV’s report on the city’s traffic, which described it as the worst in Taiwan, saying that its methodology was unsound.
TomTom, a Dutch-owned company offering GPS-related services and products, published a report on the world’s most congested cities, that listed Tainan as the ninth most congested city in the world, while placing Kaohsiung 20th.
Mexico City, Bangkok and Jakarta came first, second and third respectively on TomTom’s list.
TomTom’s evaluation of Tainan’s traffic was based on flawed sampling of locations and dates, as well as questionable traffic volume metrics, the city said in a statement, demanding that TomTom issue a clarification and publish its raw data.
The report used flawed methodology that compromised the objectivity of its conclusions, the city government cited National Cheng Kung University transport and communications professor Wei Chien-hung (魏健宏) as saying.
The report used a select number of intersections in cities as baselines for comparing traffic flows, which is not a recognized method of comparison in either statistical sciences or traffic control theories, Wu was cited as saying.
Wu said TomTom did not give due credit to the city’s efforts to improve its traffic situation and described its report as “a blind man feeling an elephant,” the city said.
The public does not see Tainan as being the most congested city in the nation, Tainan Bureau of Transportation Director-General Lin Yang-chang (林炎成) said.
The Beimen and Minzu roads intersection selected by TomTom is not a problematic area for traffic, and the area which actually causes the city government concern — Rende Interchange — has seen great improvement in recent years due to the measures implemented by the authorities, such as opening the Dawan Interchange, Lin said.
The challenges posed by traffic in the city center are caused by a railway, and are being addressed by synchronized traffic control measures and improved operation of the railway, Lin said, adding that plans to move tracks underground would eventually resolve the issues.
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
Taiwan's Gold Apollo Co (金阿波羅通信) said today that the pagers used in detonations in Lebanon the day before were not made by it, but by a company called BAC which has a license to use its brand. At least nine people were killed and nearly 3,000 wounded when pagers used by Hezbollah members detonated simultaneously across Lebanon yesterday. Images of destroyed pagers analyzed by Reuters showed a format and stickers on the back that were consistent with pagers made by Gold Apollo. A senior Lebanese security source told Reuters that Hezbollah had ordered 5,000 pagers from Taiwan-based Gold Apollo. "The product was not
COLD FACTS: ‘Snow skin’ mooncakes, made with a glutinous rice skin and kept at a low temperature, have relatively few calories compared with other mooncakes Traditional mooncakes are a typical treat for many Taiwanese in the lead-up to the Mid-Autumn Festival, but a Taipei-based dietitian has urged people not to eat more than one per day and not to have them every day due to their high fat and calorie content. As mooncakes contain a lot of oil and sugar, they can have negative health effects on older people and those with diabetes, said Lai Yu-han (賴俞含), a dietitian at Taipei Hospital of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. “The maximum you can have is one mooncake a day, and do not eat them every day,” Lai