The Kaohsiung City Government yesterday unveiled its traffic control plans for the World Games, saying it could transport all spectators attending the Games’ opening and closing ceremonies from the vicinity of the stadium within an hour of the end of the events.
Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) told reporters that the city government also hoped that the passenger rate for the city’s mass transportation system would reach 80 percent during the Games after the city announced free bus rides during the event.
“During the World Games, rides on the city’s buses will be free. Therefore we urge residents and visitors to take advantage of Kaohsiung’s mass transportation system,” she said.
PHOTO: CNA
Chen said special lanes on Jhongjheng Road between Furen and Dayong Road will be reserved for vehicles carrying Games passes between 7am and 7pm for the duration of the games.
A 24-hour transportation management center will monitor traffic during the event, Chen said, adding that there will also be 1,000 taxis using GPS navigation equipment.
The Kaohsiung Rapid Transit Corp (KRTC) said it planned to shorten train intervals on the north-south Red Line from around 10 minutes to eight minutes on the nights of the opening and closing ceremonies.
Extra south-bound trains will also be available after the ceremonies to accommodate up to 14,700 people per hour, the KRTC said.
Meanwhile, the city’s Education Bureau said yesterday that it would encourage students to go to the Games, but would not try to compel them to attend.
It also promised to look into media speculation that some schools in the city had threatened to discipline students who did not go to the Games.
In related news, the city’s Shoushan Zoo, which has been closed for renovation, will reopen tomorrow, the city’s Tourism Bureau said.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck Kaohsiung at 1pm today, the Central Weather Administration said. The epicenter was in Jiasian District (甲仙), 72.1km north-northeast of Kaohsiung City Hall, at a depth of 7.8km, agency data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in Kaohsiung and Tainan, where it measured a 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale. It also measured a 3 in parts of Chiayi City, as well as Pingtung, Yunlin and Hualien counties, data showed.
Nearly 5 million people have signed up to receive the government’s NT$10,000 (US$322) universal cash handout since registration opened on Wednesday last week, with deposits expected to begin tomorrow, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. After a staggered sign-up last week — based on the final digit of the applicant’s national ID or Alien Resident Certificate number — online registration is open to all eligible Taiwanese nationals, foreign permanent residents and spouses of Taiwanese nationals. Banks are expected to start issuing deposits from 6pm today, the ministry said. Those who completed registration by yesterday are expected to receive their NT$10,000 tomorrow, National Treasury
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