Autonomous bus projects are to get a boost from the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) using some of the funding allocated to develop public transportation, MOTC Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday.
Lin made the announcement in his opening address to an international forum on autonomous buses at the Regent Taipei.
The development of autonomous vehicles might be a solution to challenges that public transportation systems face, particularly those that arise from demographic changes.
“Taiwan will soon be an ultra-aged society, with one in five people being a senior citizen,” Lin said.
“Rapid urbanization means that in the near future 80 percent of the nation’s population would reside in cities,” he said.
“In this situation, the nation would face a severe shortage of transportation service workers. Likewise, non-urban and remote areas would not be able to sustain growth of public transportation,” he said.
Therefore, the ministry would first focus on autonomous buses, Lin said.
“Mature development of autonomous bus technology would not only address a personnel shortage, but would also enhance public transit quality and quantity issues, as well as addressing congestion in urban areas,” he said. “In non-urban areas, it would maintain a high-quality basic transportation service.”
The ministry would support the development of autonomous buses through three policy changes, he said.
It has budgeted NT$24.5 billion (US$830.09 million) for a four-year project to begin next year that would develop the public transport system, Lin said.
Part of the funds would be used to help public bus operators retire older vehicles, Lin said, adding that operators would be subsidized for purchases of autonomous buses.
The ministry from next year to 2024 is to execute a project to develop intelligent transportation, he said, adding that it would receive NT$4.287 billion.
This project would fund the development of autonomous bus services, Lin said.
“A board of transportation technology was established last year and has identified several new technological developments that have potential for the industry,” he said. “Autonomous buses is among them.”
“The government’s role should be to create a better environment to facilitate investment in innovative services,” Lin said. “I hope that we can form a national development team for autonomous buses that would compete internationally.”
The German city of Hamburg on Oct. 14 named a bridge “Kaohsiung-Brucke” after the Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung. The footbridge, formerly known as F566, is to the east of the Speicherstadt, the world’s largest warehouse district, and connects the Dar-es-Salaam-Platz to the Brooktorpromenade near the Port of Hamburg on the Elbe River. Timo Fischer, a Free Democratic Party member of the Hamburg-Mitte District Assembly, in May last year proposed the name change with support from members of the Social Democratic Party and the Christian Democratic Union. Kaohsiung and Hamburg in 1999 inked a sister city agreement, but despite more than a quarter-century of
Temperatures in northern Taiwan are forecast to reach as high as 30°C today, as an ongoing northeasterly seasonal wind system weakens, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said yesterday that with the seasonal wind system weakening, warmer easterly winds would boost the temperature today. Daytime temperatures in northern Taiwan and Yilan County are expected to range from 28°C to 30°C today, up about 3°C from yesterday, Tseng said. According to the CWA, temperature highs in central and southern Taiwan could stay stable. However, the weather is expected to turn cooler starting tonight as the northeasterly wind system strengthens again
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday expressed “grave concerns” after Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) reiterated the city-state’s opposition to “Taiwanese independence” during a meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang (李強). In Singapore on Saturday, Wong and Li discussed cross-strait developments, the Singaporean Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. “Prime Minister Wong reiterated that Singapore has a clear and consistent ‘one China’ policy and is opposed to Taiwan independence,” it said. MOFA responded that it is an objective fact and a common understanding shared by many that the Republic of China (ROC) is an independent, sovereign nation, with world-leading
The Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau (MJIB) has been investigating nine shell companies working with Prince Holding Group, and the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office is seeking further prosecution of alleged criminals, a source said yesterday. The nine companies and three Taiwanese nationals were named by the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on Oct. 14 as Specially Designated Nationals as a result of a US federal court indictment. Prince Holding founder Chen Zhi (陳志) has been charged with fraud, conspiracy, money laundering and overseeing Prince Holding’s suspected forced-labor camps in Cambodia, the indictment says. Intelligence shared between Taiwan,
RSS