All motorists could be using eTags to access the freeway electronic toll collection (ETC) system as soon as next month, the National Freeway Bureau said yesterday.
The bureau last year decided to launch a free-of-charge eTag system to replace on-board units (OBU), which were priced at NT$1,199, in a bid to boost the ETC usage rate, which will allow the bureau to put in place a policy to charge motorists by distance traveled next year.
Over the past few months, the bureau has been testing the eTag system in Keelung because the city has about 8 million registered sedans, with more than 30 percent of sedan owners using the system when the trial began, which the bureau considered an ideal size for a test program.
The Keelung test program, which involved incentives to encourage people to switch to the system, was scheduled to end this month, but the bureau said it would extend the program until the eTag system is in place nationwide.
Asked when motorists in other parts of the nation could begin using eTags, the bureau said the system could be available nationwide in the middle of next month.
“When motorists in other areas can begin using eTags involves several factors, including the completion of the infrastructure and the service network surrounding the system, as well as personnel training,” said Peng Huan-ju (彭煥儒), chief of the bureau’s business division.
“Far Eastern Electronic Toll Collection Co [FETC, the contractor administering the ETC system] is scheduled to finish building all the infrastructure in the beginning of next month and we [the bureau] still need at least one to two weeks to inspect the system,” Peng said.
Statistics from the FETC showed that during the test program, more motorists had started to use the ETC system. As of yesterday, 60 percent of registered sedan owners in Keelung had eTags installed in their vehicles.
The highest daily ETC usage rate nationwide was recorded on Jan. 3, when it reached 52.39 percent of freeway motorists.
Previously, the bureau had launched a program that allowed motorists to try the ETC system before deciding if they wanted to install an OBU in their vehicle.
The bureau said all freeway toll booths would be removed next year when it would begin charging motorists by distance traveled.
Instead, a radio-frequency identification system will detect the serial numbers on eTags and calculate how many kilometers freeway users have driven.
“We hope that all the freeway users install eTags because it will be really inconvenient for them if they don’t as the payment does not automatically come out of your eTag account. However, we can only force people to put the e-Tags in their cars when the ETC usage rate exceeds 80 percent,” Peng said.
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