The Taipei City Government is raising the rental fees for its popular YouBike program, with a new charge for the first half-hour of use.
The program had offered riders a free half-hour on the bikes since its inception to promote use of the bicycles.
Starting next month, the first half-hour will cost NT$10, and Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said the city government will cover half and riders will have to pay the other NT$5.
Photo: Wu Liang-yi, Taipei Times
He also said that future fee hikes were possible.
“The continued existence of the YouBike system requires money,” Ko said. “The city is set to invest NT$1 billion [US$32 million] in the system by 2019, including new rental sites and purchasing more bicycles.”
Taipei Department of Transportation Director Chung Hui-yu (鐘慧諭) said it was important that users bear more of the system’s costs to ensure sufficient funds were available for the city’s extensive expansion plans.
The YouBike system has grown rapidly since it was introduced in 2009, averaging 2 million rides per month in Taipei alone.
The Department of Transportation’s plans call for doubling the number of rental stations and bicycles by 2019, as well as constructing 154km of new bicycle paths, transportation management division head Liu Chia-yu (劉嘉祐) said.
While the budget for future bike path construction has yet to be finalized, the Taipei Department of Public Work budgeted NT$345 million this year to construct 6.6km of paths along Songjiang (松江) and Fuxing (復興) roads.
Citing surveys taken earlier this year in which city residents were asked whether they would support an increase in YouBike rental fees, with different fee options up to a maximum of NT$10 for the first half-hour, Lee said that a hike in fees could cause a drop in use, perhaps by as much as 30 percent, which would save the city from NT$100 million to NT$150 million a year in the fee subsidies it would not have to cover.
A drop in use because of the fee hike would mean reduced waiting times for bikes at YouBike stations, making it easier for residents who rely more heavily on the bicycles to find a bike to rent.
YouBike fees in other municipalities and counties will not be affected by Taipei’s subsidy cuts, with fees for rides between Taipei and New Taipei city based on the station from which the bike was rented.
The fee change is to take effect on April 1. The YouBike system will shut down nationwide from 12am to 5am that day to allow for the system’s software to be updated.
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