House prices in Taipei have been shockingly high for some time, which has led to the rise of house prices in New Taipei City and Taoyuan. Many of those who work in Taipei, but cannot afford to buy a house or an apartment in northern Taiwan choose to live in Yilan County.
It is well known that the cost of living in Yilan is much lower than in Taipei. As a result, a great number of people commute between Yilan County and Taipei every day.
A new monthly transportation pass program was recently announced by the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, and it has generated attention from the public. The inter-city monthly pass would allow commuters to have unlimited access to Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) systems and highway buses, neither of which are included in Taipei’s and New Taipei City’s monthly passes.
The inclusion of the TRA systems and highway buses is especially beneficial for commuters who do not live in the metropolitan area. Many Yilan residents who work in Taipei or Taoyuan would find the NT$1,200 monthly pass extremely cost-effective. Traveling between Yilan and Taipei via the Chiang Wei-shui Memorial Freeway — also known as Freeway No. 5 — is their daily commute. They travel to earn a living, not for fun.
Regrettably, although the monthly pass program includes Taoyuan’s Jhungli (中壢) and Yangmei (楊梅) districts, it has excluded the towns of Toucheng (頭城) and Jiaosi (礁溪) in Yilan.
Taipei, New Taipei City, Keelung, Taoyuan and Yilan constitute a shared residential sphere, and this should be a consensus shared by leaders in those places. Their common goal should be to improve inter-city transportation together.
It has always been the central government’s priority to reduce traffic along Freeway No. 5 during rush hour. If Yilan can be incorporated into the monthly pass program, more people would opt for public transportation rather than driving individually. Hence, traffic congestion can be mitigated and carbon emissions reduced. It would be a win-win situation for the government and commuters.
City mayors and councilors should work together and include Yilan in the monthly pass program. Collaboration between city and county leaders would rid northern Taiwan of parochialism.
Dino Wei is an information technology engineer from Yilan County.
Translated by Liu Yi-hung
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