More than 100 fans of Kuo Kuang coaches departed for Sun Moon Lake (日月潭) yesterday to bid farewell to the iconic public transportation vehicles, which are scheduled to be phased out at the end of the year.
The passengers included retired company drivers and stewardesses, who recalled the “good old days” on the buses, which were once considered premium passenger vehicles.
Chang Chin-tsung (張金棕), 66, a retired company bus driver who took his wife on the farewell trip, said the low chassis gave passengers a feeling of “comfort and stability.”
Liu Hung-ming (劉鴻明), 62, — who still drives the buses — said that driving them is a great experience.
“Nowadays, most passengers prefer newer vehicles, so that the company has gradually lost its competitive edge. It is a pity to phase them out,” he said.
For many, the company symbolizes the nation’s economic beginnings.
On Oct. 31, 1978, Kuo Kuang buses became the first passenger coaches to drive the newly opened north-south Sun Yat-sen Freeway.
It took four-and-a-half hours to travel from Taipei to Kaohsiung, and tickets cost NT$330.
Passengers at the time said it was “comfortable and convenient,” and said it was “even more cool than taking a plane.”
A total of 471 buses were purchased from the US, each costing NT$14 million (US$426,803).
Kuo-Kuang Motor Transportation Company manager Wu Chung-hsi (吳忠錫) said that only 33 of the buses — in operation for at least 23 years — are still running between Taipei and Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport.
However, as the coaches have aged, passengers’ complaints have increased.
After the phasing out of the 33 vehicles at the end of the year the company is to keep just five vehicles, and two are to be given to the Directorate-General of Highways for display.
The remaining 26 are to be sold at auction or donated to charity groups, Wu said, adding the company is hoping to get more than NT$600,000 per vehicle.
He said that some bus enthusiasts have already inquired about the price, saying that they want to buy them for family trips or to convert into a coffee shop.
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