The Ministry of Transportation and Communications yesterday unveiled a plan to facilitate the transport of homebound passengers for the Mid-Autumn Festival, with freeway traffic estimated to top 2.8 million vehicles on the first day of the holiday break.
The festival, which is observed nationwide on the 15th day of the eighth month on the Lunar calendar, falls on Sept. 27 this year, with the holiday break running from Sept. 26 to Sept. 28.
Department of Highways and Railways Deputy Director Wang Mu-han (王穆衡) said the ministry estimates that the number of homebound travelers may be fewer than during the Dragon Boat Festival because universities start school next week.
Most college students might opt to stay near their campuses, he said, adding that families with younger children might not travel either because of school starting.
As part of the plan, the Taiwan Railways Administration and Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp are to provide additional services from Sept. 25 to Sept. 29. Extra flights and shipping services are to be offered to passengers going to the nation’s outlying islands.
Freeway travelers will see toll-free hours from 11pm to 6am, the ministry said. Motorists taking the Chiang Wei-shui Freeway (Freeway No. 5) will be asked to observe the high occupancy vehicle (HOV) policy during the holiday, which requires a minimum of three people in a car.
The policy applies to southbound traffic on Freeway No. 5 on Sept. 26 and Sept. 27 between 7am and 12pm, as well as northbound traffic on Sept. 28 between 3pm and 8pm.
Freeway users will not have a 20km toll-free distance during the holidays, with each small passenger vehicle paying a toll rate of NT$0.9 per kilometer, the ministry said.
However, motorists taking Freeway No. 3 will have a 20 percent discount on tolls between the Hsinchu and Yenchao interchanges.
The traffic measures are also to be applied for the Double Ten National Day holidays, the ministry said.
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