Commuters may see big changes to Taipei's bus system in the future, as the city's transportation department plans to deploy a grid route network to provide timed transfers between buses and the MRT.
The department said that with the city's MRT network system expanding and an excess number of buses running on exclusive lanes, it plans to alter bus routes so that they run in a north-south or east-west direction, to provide faster and more convenient bus service.
Parallel bus lines would be crossed by other bus lines on a grid.
"On a grid bus network passengers can take any bus to their destination without having to figure out first which bus route to take," transportation commissioner Jason Lin (
Under the preliminary plan, the bus network will be divided into a grid network in the city and a separate network outside the city, with transfers between the two networks to be established in the city.
Lin said that through the cancelation of bus routes in remote areas and the centralization of buses on main streets, the plan will reduce the number of buses on exclusive lanes by 30 percent and cut costs for bus companies.
"It's also good news for foreigners. They don't need to know Chinese. All they need is a city map and they can go around the city by bus," he said.
The cancelation of traditional circulation routes, however, could also mean that passengers will spend more time and money transferring between buses, rather than reaching their destination by taking one bus.
Passengers going from Taipei City Hall to the Shilin night market, for example, can currently get to the market by taking one bus. Under the new plan, however, they would need to transfer to another bus on Zhongshan North Road first before heading to the market.
Lin said bus runs will be more highly concentrated under the new plan, and passengers will also be able to get one free transfer within 30 minutes of the first swipe using their easy card.
The department plans to set out a budget for the changes by the end of this year, and will communicate with the new city government officials after municipal elections in December to implement it.
However, as Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (
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