Professional drivers of large commercial vehicles aged 65 or older can drive no more than eight hours per day after amendments to the Transportation Management Regulations (汽車運輸業管理規則) and Road Traffic Security Rules (道路交通安全規則) take effect today.
The changes allow drivers of large commercial vehicles to keep their licenses up to the age of 68, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday, adding that the changes were intended to address a shortage of professional drivers resulting from an aging population.
The amendments would allow the number of people driving large commercial vehicles to increase by about 3,000 per year, the ministry said.
Changes to Article 19-7 of the Transportation Management Regulations require transportation businesses to follow stricter rules when dispatching drivers aged 65 or older, the ministry said, adding that a two-month public consultation period was held prior to implementation of the changes.
Drivers aged 65 or older must not drive more than eight hours per day and they must take a 30-minute break after three consecutive hours of driving, it said.
They need to have at least a 10-hour break after working two consecutive days and their duties should take place between 6am and 6pm, the ministry added.
While tour bus operators can dispatch drivers aged 65 or older to drive shuttle buses for schools or companies, freeway bus operators must not dispatch them to drive through more than one city or county, the ministry said.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Many Japanese couples are coming to Taiwan to obtain donated sperm or eggs for fertility treatment due to conservatism in their home country, Taiwan’s high standards and low costs, doctors said. One in every six couples in Japan is receiving infertility treatment, Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare data show. About 70,000 children are born in Japan every year through in vitro fertilization (IVF), or about one in every 11 children born. Few people accept donated reproductive cells in Japan due to a lack of clear regulations, leaving treatment in a “gray zone,” Taichung Nuwa Fertility Center medical director Wang Huai-ling (王懷麟)
PROXIMITY: Prague is closer to Dresden than Berlin is, so Taiwanese firms are expected to take advantage of the Czech capital’s location, the Executive Yuan official said Taiwan plans to boost cooperation with the Czech Republic in semiconductor development due to Prague’s pivotal role in the European IC industry, Executive Yuan Secretary-General Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said. With Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) building a wafer fab in the German city of Dresden, a Germany-Czech Republic-Poland “silicon triangle” is forming, Kung said in a media interview on the weekend after returning from a visit to Prague. “Prague is closer to Dresden than Berlin is, so Taiwanese firms are expected to take advantage of the Czech capital’s location,” he said. “Taiwan and Prague have already launched direct flights and it is
RSS