The Maokong Gondola will offer free rides during six days of test operations starting on Tuesday and resume full service on March 30 following an 18-month suspension because of damage to one of its pillars.
Taipei Rapid Transit System Corp (TRTC), the system’s operator, will open the gondola system to 10,000 visitors each day during the six-day test operation. People who plan to take the free ride should take a number slip at the gondola’s Taipei Zoo Station or Maokong Station between 8:30am and 5pm.
Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) yesterday guaranteed the safety of the gondola and welcomed the public to enjoy the “upgraded” cable car system.
“This is a new beginning after the Maokong Gondola’s upgrading,” Hau said at Taipei City Hall. “We invite old and new friends to take the gondola, see the pandas and enjoy great tea in Maokong.”
Hau said the city government has corrected a number of deficiencies as demanded by the Maokong inspection committee. It has also strengthened recreational facilities and improved the overall environment in the Maokong area to boost tourism. The committee, composed of transportation and civil engineering experts, inspected the system on March 4 and demanded that the city review standard operating procedures in case there’s a blackout, improve the gondola’s boarding mechanism and the overall environment at gondola stations.
To ensure the safety of the gondola after service resumes, Taipei City Secretariat Director Tan Gwa-guang (譚國光) said the city government installed monitors on each of the 25 support pillars and would examine them every two months to see whether they had tilted.
The system, which was built during President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) term as Taipei mayor and became a popular attraction soon after operations started in July 2007, has been shut down since October 2008 after the foundation of a support pillar was eroded during a typhoon.
The city government later relocated the problematic support pillar, also known as Tower No. 16 (T16 pillar), to a new location and held a small-scale test run earlier this month to ensure the system’s safety. Upon resuming full operation on March 30, the gondola will be open from 9am to 9pm from Tuesdays to Thursdays, 9am to 10pm on Fridays, 8:30am to 10pm on Saturdays and from 8:30 to 9pm on Sundays. The gondola will be closed on Mondays for regular system maintenance.
A message board with updates on the number of slips already issued have been installed at the MRT’s Zhongxiao-Fuxing Station, the TRTC said. The company said the gondola attracted about 13,000 visitors per day during weekdays and about 21,000 people during weekends before it was suspended. The city government expects the service to attract more visitors after the reopening.
The city government yesterday also invited a group of local teahouse owners in Maokong to endorse its efforts to improve the recreational facilities in the area. Following complaints from local businesses, the city government set up more facilities at the Zoo Mall and developed a camphor tree trail near the Maokong station to attract more tourists.
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