The Directorate-General of Highways (DGH) yesterday defended the implementation of a policy requiring tour bus operators to install a GPS device on their buses, saying that the device has proved effective in enhancing the operational safety of tour buses.
The nation’s highway authority made the statement after New Taipei City Touring-Bus Craft Union for Drivers said that it would mobilize hundreds of tour bus owners to protest against the policy outside the Ministry of Transportation and Communications tomorrow.
The ministry should stop the policy, as it is intended to monitor drivers’ whereabouts, the union said.
It is mandatory for tour bus operators to install GPS, the DGH said, adding that the device enables the agency to track drivers’ locations and whether they have exceeded the speed limit or have been overworked.
Drivers could face a fine of NT$9,000 to NT$90,000 if they are found to have disconnected the device from their vehicle, it said.
The public is aware of the importance of tour bus safety after a fatal accident in October 2010 on the Suhua Highway and another in February 2017 on the Chiang Wei-shui Memorial Freeway (Freeway No. 5), the agency said.
In the first accident, 21 people died when the bus fell into the sea — 19 of whom were Chinese tourists — while 33 local tourists died in the latter.
Rescuers were not able to locate the tour bus in the 2010 accident, because it was not equipped with GPS, the agency said, adding that the device has proved indispensable in determining the exact location of traffic accidents, saving time and lives.
During the nine months in which the policy has been implemented, the DGH said that it received 15 reports on how traffic on highways was blocked by landslides.
Using GPS, it was able to inform 93 tour buses of the landslides, so that they could safely leave the area, the agency said.
GPS has also helped reduce by 82 percent the number of cases in which tour bus drivers were found to have been overworked, the DGH said, adding that it has helped prevent the tour buses from operating in no-entry zones, as well as reducing other types of contraventions.
The policy has also benefited travel agencies, it said.
Some of the tourist attractions and hotels are in mountainous areas, which are no-entry zones for large passenger vehicles. This has inconvenienced tour bus operators and travel agencies, as visitors would have to switch to smaller buses to reach their locations, the DGH said.
However, data collected through GPS have enabled the agency to revisit some of the no-entry zones and see if the restriction could be lifted or relaxed by improving the road designs, it said, adding that, as of June, 10 no-entry zones have been removed or changed to routes where large passenger vehicles should proceed with caution.
The policy also protects consumers, as they can check the basic information of their charter buses and track their whereabouts through a smartphone app developed by the agency, it said.
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