The Taipei Market Administration Office yesterday introduced touchscreen kiosks at Xihu Market (西湖市場) that allow customers to order meals in the food court by using their smartphone to scan a quick response code.
The system was unveiled for the Taipei Traditional Market Festival, which opened at Xihu Market.
Taipei Deputy Mayor Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) said that as the market shares a building with MRT Xihu Station and receives ample foot traffic, the office last year budgeted funding to renovate the market in the hopes of attracting more visitors and making the market a tourist attraction in Neihu District (內湖).
Photo: CNA
The renovation included changing floor tiles, tables and chairs at the market’s second-floor food court; improving entry, exit and information signs and layout maps; and remodeling 15 stalls, the office said.
Five touchscreen kiosks, which were installed near entrances this week, display products sold at each food stall and provide codes that customers can scan to order meals, it said.
The market is near Neihu Technology Park (內湖科技園區) and many of the park’s workers frequent its food court, the office said, adding that it collaborated with two technology companies to introduce the point-of-sale kiosks in the hopes of making food orders more convenient and less time-consuming.
The office said that it plans to introduce the system at three other traditional markets in the second half of this year.
With the Central Epidemic Command Center easing disease prevention measures and the city’s public facilities beginning to gradually reopen to the public today, people can choose not to wear a mask if they can maintain social distancing on public transportation, Huang said.
However, vendors and visitors at the city’s public markets are still required to wear masks, she said.
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