The Ministry of Economic Affairs is reviewing a proposal for a self-driving bus in Taipei that would begin testing on Xinyi Road and open for a public trial as early as the second quarter next year.
“If road test results are good, we will open it for passengers to ride,” Taipei Department of Transportation Director Chen Hsueh-tai (陳學台) said on Saturday.
Road tests and possible future operations would occur after midnight, when Taipei’s MRT railway system or buses are unavailable, he said.
Photo: Tsai Ya-hua, Taipei Times
The project was proposed by Turing Drive Inc, a local company that has run two successful tests at Taichung-based Lihpao Land (麗寶樂園) and the Taoyuan Agriculture Expo, he said.
Running on Xinyi Road’s bus lane late at night requires no lane changing and affects fewer people during the test period, he added.
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications would issue a trial bus plate after the proposal is approved, followed by a testing period of two to three months from 12:01am to 2am, before opening bus for free public trails from 12:01am to 5am, he said.
Sensors would be installed at wider intersections to help the bus to recognize traffic signs, and the testing speed would be set at 30kph, department officials said, adding that the law requires a staff member to ride the bus for manual intervention in the case of an emergency.
Cameras installed on the bus would monitor real-time traffic situations and report driving conditions to Turing Drive and the city government, they said.
Taiwan would follow a global trend in limiting the buses to late-night operation, as current technology is not mature enough yet to run them during the day, Chen said.
Two years ago, the city government closed the two-way bus lane on Xinyi Road to test French company 7Star Lake’s driverless shuttle EZ10, which Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) rode. However, the bus failed to distinguish traffic lights, and did not pass the review.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
The age requirement for commercial pilots and airline transport pilots is to be lowered by two years, to 18 and 21 years respectively, to expand the pool of pilots in accordance with international standards, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications announced today. The changes are part of amendments to articles 93, 119 and 121 of the Regulations Governing Licenses and Ratings for Airmen (航空人員檢定給證管理規則). The amendments take into account age requirements for aviation personnel certification in the Convention on International Civil Aviation and EU’s aviation safety regulations, as well as the practical needs of managing aviation personnel licensing, the ministry said. The ministry
RSS