YouBike is to launch a three-month test run for its upgraded system in Taipei’s Gongguan (公館) today, before the city considers replacing all YouBike bicycles with the new models, the Taipei Department of Transportation said yesterday.
A total of 1,808 new YouBike stands are to be installed at 102 stations in the area during the trial run to accommodate 500 new bikes as part of the department’s “YouBike 2.0” project, it said, adding that the new service would start operations at 10am.
Scooter or bike riders should not park their vehicles near the new stations to avoid receiving a ticket, the department said.
The new service would feature smart control panels on the bikes instead of on the stands, meaning that users can proceed with the rental process directly by swiping an EasyCard or scanning a QR code with their smartphones, it said.
The relocation of the control panels means that the stands would take up less space, which is necessary to build a more comprehensive network, it added.
The new system would also be more eco-friendly, as the service interface would use built-in solar energy panels on the bicycles instead of being powered by underground wires through the stands, the department said.
The new bikes, which would be colored white and yellow, would also carry a GPS chip and use an automatic locking system instead of traditional locks, it said.
The new system would not be compatible with the current one, transport officials said, acknowledging that this might cause confusion and inconvenience for some users.
The Taipei City Government is to install the new stands alongside existing ones to give users two options, they said.
Gongguan area, near National Taiwan University, was chosen for the trial run because it is the most popular YouBike hotspot in the nation, the department said.
The city would study user behavior during the test run when drafting its plan to expand the system citywide, it said.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
RSS