The Taipei Public Transportation Office on Thursday said that from today it would expand the number of bus routes that allow pet owners to travel with their dogs during holidays and weekends.
Following a pilot program from Jan. 1 to June 25, when the city designated several No. 604 and 0 East buses “dog-friendly,” dog owners will soon also be able to take Brown No. 6 buses, which pass close to the Wanxing Dog Area across from Taipei Zoo, the office said.
The office said that round-trip, dog-friendly Brown No. 6 buses would run three times per day on weekends and public holidays — at 8:40am, 11:20am and 4:40pm.
It also said that similar services would be introduced from Aug. 5 on No. 225 and No. 669 buses for passengers looking to go to Yingfeng Dog Park and Huashan Dog Park respectively.
In addition, No. 279 and No. 681 buses would also be incorporated into the dog-friendly bus network after a new dog park opens in Neihu District (內湖) later this year.
In the first six months of this year, the trial program carried 8,730 people and 38 dogs on designated 0 East buses, with 14,917 people and 53 dogs traveling on No. 604 buses.
Services on the two routes are to continue until the end of January next year, the office said, adding that the program has been much more popular than initially expected.
The Taipei Department of Health yesterday said it has launched a probe into a restaurant at Far Eastern Sogo Xinyi A13 Department Store after a customer died of suspected food poisoning. A preliminary investigation on Sunday found missing employee health status reports and unsanitary kitchen utensils at Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) in the department store’s basement food court, the department said. No direct relationship between the food poisoning death and the restaurant was established, as no food from the day of the incident was available for testing and no other customers had reported health complaints, it said, adding that the investigation is ongoing. Later
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