The data collected from eTags — an electronic device used to pay toll fees on the nation’s freeways — has helped the freeway authority forecast the travel times and regulate traffic using more effective measures, according to the National Freeway Bureau.
The electronic toll collection system for all freeways was launched on Dec. 30, 2013.
There are 319 toll fee-collecting gantries on freeways and more than 8.9 billion transactions were recorded as of last month, Bureau Deputy Director-General Wu Mu-fu (吳木富) said.
Wu said that this data has helped the bureau map patterns of freeway users, adding that it can be further analyzed and calculated to enhance the efficiency of freeway traffic management and research for better techniques to regulate it.
By analyzing the routes of drivers, the bureau knows which freeway ramps should be closed when there is traffic congestion, Wu said, adding that the data can also help the bureau determine toll fees for the launch of the differential toll fee scheme. The scheme is to charge peak-hour toll fees on certain freeway sections, Wu said.
Based on the information collected, the bureau can also forecast traffic situations at a specific time, Wu said.
The bureau tried using the data to forecast the travel time between Taipei and Kaohsiung, as well as between Nangang (南港) and Suao (蘇澳), at different hours of day on some of the nation’s major holidays, including the Dragon Boat Festival, Moon Festival and Double Ten National Day, Wu said.
The proposed use of eTags, operated by Far Eastern Electronic Toll Collection Co, to pay for parking fees, still needs to secure the approval of lawmakers, Wu said.
“Legislators fear the use of eTags for parking would lead to job losses for those tending parking lots, just as freeway toll fee collectors lost their jobs when the government launched the electronic toll collection system,” Wu said.
“They want us to study the business potential and the problems of producing invoices if people are able to pay their parking fees using eTags,” Wu added.
To allay lawmakers’ doubts, Wu said that allowing people to pay parking fees using eTags would not cause job losses, but only make toll collectors’ jobs easier, as staff could scan the bar code on the eTags, rather than having to key in license-plate numbers.
The company would also be able to provide invoices for transactions paid by eTag, Wu said.
Rain is to increase from Wednesday morning as Severe Tropical Storm Kong-Rey approaches, with sea warnings to be issued as early as tomorrow afternoon, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today. As of 8am, Kong-Rey was 1,050km east-southeast of the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春) heading in a northwesterly direction toward Taiwan, CWA Forecast Center Director Lin Po-tung (林伯東) said. Rainfall is to increase from Wednesday morning, especially in northern Taiwan and Yilan County, he said. A sea warning is possible from tomorrow afternoon, while a land warning may be issued on Wednesday morning, he added. Kong-Rey may intensify into a moderate typhoon as it passes
Hong Kong singer Andy Lau’s (劉德華) concert in Taipei tonight has been cancelled due to Typhoon Kong-rei and is to be held at noon on Saturday instead, the concert organizer SuperDome said in a statement this afternoon. Tonight’s concert at Taipei Arena was to be the first of four consecutive nightly performances by Lau in Taipei, but it was called off at the request of Taipei Metro, the operator of the venue, due to the weather, said the organizer. Taipei Metro said the concert was cancelled out of consideration for the audience’s safety. The decision disappointed a number of Lau’s fans who had
Taiwan yesterday issued warnings to four Chinese coast guard vessels that intruded into restricted waters around the Taiwan-controlled Kinmen Islands, according to the Coast Guard Administration (CGA). The four China Coast Guard ships were detected approaching restricted waters south of Kinmen at around 2 pm yesterday, the CGA’s Kinmen-Matsu Branch said in a statement. The CGA said it immediately deployed four patrol boats to closely monitor the situation. When the Chinese ships with the hull numbers "14512," "14609," "14603" and "14602" separately entered the restricted waters off Fuhsing islet (復興嶼), Zhaishan (翟山), Sinhu (新湖) and Liaoluo (料羅) at 3 pm, the Taiwanese patrol
A former member of the US Naval Special Warfare Development Group (DEVGRU), formerly known as SEAL Team 6, said in an interview with Business Insider that the elite unit’s role in a Taiwan Strait conflict would be more limited than some might expect. The report follows an earlier one in September by the Financial Times, which said the “clandestine US Navy commando unit” has been training for missions to help Taiwan if it is invaded by China. “You don’t use a scalpel for a job a hammer can do,” the former Navy Seal said to Business Insider on condition of anonymity.