MRT should start earlier
A few days ago, I made plans to hike up Qixingshan (七星山) from Lengshuikeng (冷水坑) on Yangmingshan (陽明山) in Taipei.
After descending Qixingshan to Xiao Youkeng (小油坑), we were going to run to Qingtiangang (擎天崗).
However, due to the heat, we all thought that the earlier we could get out, the better, and the best solution was to take the day’s first No. 5 bus that stops at the Taipei’s MRT metropolitan railway system’s Jiantan Station at 5:40am.
We thought that the smoothest way to achieve this would be to take the MRT from New Taipei City’s Banciao District (板橋), but then we found out that the first train of the day only leaves the starting station at 6am, so in the end, we had to take a taxi to Jiantan Station to be able to catch the first No. 5 bus.
During summer, the sun rises just after 5am, so at that time there are lots of people who want to take public transport to start their activities, whether it be tourism or exercising.
Since most buses lines start operating just after 5am, why cannot the same apply to the Taipei MRT?
To allow the thousands of early risers in Taipei and New Taipei City to enjoy the convenience of public transport, the Taipei and New Taipei City MRT system should be coordinated with bus operations, perhaps with fewer departures before 6am considering the lower number of passengers traveling at that time.
Chen Ho-wen
Taipei
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