The Freeway 1968 (高速公路1968) mobile phone application would allow people to check the number of vehicles or foot traffic at 234 tourist attractions nationwide during the International Workers’ Day holiday, Minister of Transportation and Communications Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday.
Large crowds at some popular tourist attractions during the Tomb Sweeping Day long weekend raised concerns about the risk of COVID-19 transmissions, and sparked debate over whether the Workers’ Day holiday should be canceled.
Lin said that his ministry would comply with instructions from the Central Epidemic Command Center by launching the upgraded edition of Freeway 1968 today.
Photo: CNA
The tourist attractions covered include scenic spots, night markets, parks and shopping districts, he said, adding that traffic and crowd alerts for these areas would be available.
The crowd alert would be updated every 10 minutes using data collected by Chunghwa Telecom, Lin said.
A red alert would mean that the area is crowded, while yellow would mean that the crowd is slightly larger than normal, he said, adding that green would mean that the crowd size is normal.
The app is already available for download on iOS devices, while Android users would be able to download it before tomorrow, Lin said.
Regarding personal privacy issues, Lin said that telecoms would know the number of people in an area by monitoring the traffic on cell towers near it, as long as the people have their mobile phones turned on, adding that the method would not involve the use of personal data.
In other developments, Lin said that a new policy allowing airlines to carry cargo in the cabins of passenger jets would help airlines survive amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the past, if carriers wanted to transport cargo on passenger jets, they would have to place items in the baggage holds of the aircraft, he said.
The pandemic has caused many airlines to reduce passenger flights due to a sharp decline in travelers, but demand for cargo services is increasing, Lin said.
Since April 17, the Civil Aeronautics Administration has approved EVA Air’s requests to carry cargo in the passenger cabins of Boeing 777 and Boeing 787 aircraft, he added.
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