Taipei City buses will be running on the off-peak timetable and the MRT operating on its weekend and holiday schedule throughout the Lunar New Year holiday from today to Friday, the city’s Department of Transportation said yesterday.
Buses serving mountainous areas will be running on the weekend and holiday schedule. Shuttle services that run only on weekdays will operate according to the usual schedule.
PANDA FEVER
Buses 120, 121, 122 and G1 to the Taipei Zoo will run more frequently as the opening of the Panda Hall is expected to draw big crowds.
The MRT Muzha Line will also run more frequently to accommodate visitors to the zoo during the holidays, but all other MRT lines will run on the weekend and holiday schedule. The normal operating schedule will resume on Feb. 2.
TAXI FARES
Meanwhile, Taipei taxis will not add a Lunar New Year surcharge this year in the hope of attracting more business during the holiday period. Cab fares will start at NT$70 for the first 1.25km as usual.
The department said passengers could call the city’s 1999 hotline or the traffic division at 02-2394-9007 or 02-2321-9166 to report any taxi drivers who try to overcharge customers during the holiday.
More information on transportation arrangements is available on the Web site of the city’s public transportation office, www.pto.taipei.gov.tw, or at the public transportation inquiries Web site, www.5284.com.tw.
The Public Bus Hotline can be reached at 2729-1181.
Callers outside Taipei City can dial 02-2720-8889 for more information.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Many Japanese couples are coming to Taiwan to obtain donated sperm or eggs for fertility treatment due to conservatism in their home country, Taiwan’s high standards and low costs, doctors said. One in every six couples in Japan is receiving infertility treatment, Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare data show. About 70,000 children are born in Japan every year through in vitro fertilization (IVF), or about one in every 11 children born. Few people accept donated reproductive cells in Japan due to a lack of clear regulations, leaving treatment in a “gray zone,” Taichung Nuwa Fertility Center medical director Wang Huai-ling (王懷麟)
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
RSS