The New Taipei City Government came under criticism from Democratic Progressive Party City Councilor Lin Yi-chi (林裔綺) and taxicab operators for its management of the traffic around former goldmining community of Jioufen District (九份).
Jioufen is known for its quaint architecture, scenic sea views and being a major location for director Hou Hsiao-hsien’s (侯孝賢) 1989 film A City of Sadness (悲情城市). It has become a major tourist magnet for domestic and Chinese visitors, attracting 4 million people last year.
However, at a recent meeting taxicab operators said that Jioufen’s location and antiquated transportation network, combined with what they said was misstatement by public transportation authorities, is creating traffic havoc.
One taxicab fleet owner said that because County Highway 102, which is the main road leading to Jioufen, has no parking, cabdrivers usually drop their passengers off by a graveyard.
“It is not a great way to make first impressions for Jioufen,” the businessman said.
Other cabdrivers working in the Jioufen area said that the routes and fares mandated by the city government, which are detailed on billboards, are unnecessarily confusing and lead to frequent conflicts between drivers and passengers who misunderstand the signs.
A passenger who travels by taxi from the train station in Rueifang District (瑞芳) to visit Jioufen and then Shihfen District (十份) is charged NT$660, but a passenger who only wants to go from Jioufen to Shihfen has to pay the same amount because cabdrivers are required to make a detour around the train station, a driver said.
Taxi driver Tsai Ming-sung (蔡明松) said the standardized fares have not been changed since they were set eight years ago, adding that he and other drivers often rack up fines because of a lack of parking spots or poorly situated ones to offload passengers.
“My margin is thin and much of it goes to paying tickets. The authorities should think about how they run things,” he said.
Transportation Department division Director Su Hsien-chih (蘇先知) said his division has been trying to revamp the parking situation, but the village roads are too narrow and too many motor vehicles use them, including city buses.
The division considers the detour around Rueifang Station a safety requirement, Su said.
As for fares, the department had already decided to raise them as part of a rate hike scheduled to take effect in Taipei, New Taipei City and Keelung on Thursday.
Taiwan is to have nine extended holidays next year, led by a nine-day Lunar New Year break, the Cabinet announced yesterday. The nine-day Lunar New Year holiday next year matches the length of this year’s holiday, which featured six extended holidays. The increase in extended holidays is due to the Act on the Implementation of Commemorative and Festival Holidays (紀念日及節日實施條例), which was passed early last month with support from the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party. Under the new act, the day before Lunar New Year’s Eve is also a national holiday, and Labor Day would no longer be limited
COMMITMENTS: The company had a relatively low renewable ratio at 56 percent and did not have any goal to achieve 100 percent renewable energy, the report said Pegatron Corp ranked the lowest among five major final assembly suppliers in progressing toward Apple Inc’s commitment to be 100 percent carbon neutral by 2030, a Greenpeace East Asia report said yesterday. While Apple has set the goal of using 100 percent renewable energy across its entire business, supply chain and product lifecycle by 2030, carbon emissions from electronics manufacturing are rising globally due to increased energy consumption, it said. Given that carbon emissions from its supply chain accounted for more than half of its total emissions last year, Greenpeace East Asia evaluated the green transition performance of Apple’s five largest final
Taiwan is to extend its visa-waiver program for Philippine passport holders for another year, starting on Aug. 1, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said on Friday. Lin made the announcement during a reception in Taipei marking the 127th anniversary of Philippine independence and the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) in Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The decision reflected Taiwan’s commitment to deepening exchanges with the Philippines, the statement cited Lin as saying, adding that it was a key partner under the New Southbound Policy launched in 2016. Lin also expressed hope
Temperatures in New Taipei City’s Sindian District (新店) climbed past 37°C yesterday, as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) issued heat alerts for 16 municipalities, warning the public of intense heat expected across Taiwan. The hottest location in Taiwan was in Sindian, where the mercury reached 37.5°C at about 2pm, according to CWA data. Taipei’s Shilin District (士林) recorded a temperature of 37.4°C at noon, Taitung County’s Jinfeng Township (金峰) at 12:50 pm logged a temperature of 37.4°C and Miaoli County’s Toufen Township (頭份) reached 36.7°C at 11:40am, the CWA said. The weather agency yesterday issued a yellow level information notice for Taipei, New
RSS