With more people hitting the road during the Lunar New Year holiday, transportation authorities issued reminders for people traveling with pets on what types of animals are allowed on public transportation and how they can be transported.
The Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) allows cats, dogs, rabbits, small aquatic animals and birds, but they must be brought onboard in a sturdy carrier that does not leak and measures no more than 55x45x38cm, it said.
The carrier must be kept under the passenger’s seat at all times during the trip, it said, adding that wheeled pet carriers for cats and dogs are allowed if they are not more than 55x45x38cm.
Photo: Taipei Times
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp allows dogs, cats, turtles, rabbits and small aquatic animals on board its trains, if they are in a sturdy carrier with a maximum size of 55x45x38cm and does not leak, it said.
However, the animal must not cause noise, foul smells, or pose a public health or safety risk, it said, adding that permits are required to transport other types of animals.
Taipei Rapid Transit Corp follows similar rules on pet carrier sizes, and owners must ensure that the animal’s limbs, tail or wings do not protrude from the container, and that the pet does not stink.
Each rider is permitted to carry only one container, it said.
Those with large animal carriers measuring up to a combined length, width and height of 210cm can take their pet onboard after purchasing a special one-way MRT ticket for NT$80, which can be purchased at any station along the Red Line except Taipei Main Station or Daan Station, it said.
Station staff will provide entrance to and exit from the departing and arrival stations through service gates at the ticket booths, the company said.
Small pet birds are allowed on the MRT, but live agricultural birds, such as geese, turkeys, chickens and ducks, are not allowed, it said.
Riders with pets must keep their pets with them at all times, and should not obstruct walkways with their carrier or place it on a seat, the company said.
Taipei eBus said that passengers taking public buses in New Taipei City and Taoyuan are also required to have their pets in sturdy containers measuring no more than 55x45x40cm.
Each passenger is allowed to bring one pet carrier aboard, it said.
Kaohsiung Rapid Transit Corp said passengers can take carriers with a maximum size of 220cm, adding that the animal’s limbs, tail and wings may not protrude from the enclosure.
ANOTHER EMERGES: The CWA yesterday said this year’s fourth storm of the typhoon season had formed in the South China Sea, but was not expected to affect Taiwan Tropical Storm Gaemi has intensified slightly as it heads toward Taiwan, where it is expected to affect the country in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 8am yesterday, the 120km-radius storm was 800km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving at 9kph northwest, the agency said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued tonight at the earliest, it said, adding that the storm is projected to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday. Gaemi’s potential effect on Taiwan remains unclear, as that would depend on its direction, radius and intensity, forecasters said. Former Weather Forecast
As COVID-19 cases in Japan have been increasing for 10 consecutive weeks, people should get vaccinated before visiting the nation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. The centers reported 773 hospitalizations and 124 deaths related to COVID-19 in Taiwan last week. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) on Tuesday said the number of weekly COVID-19 cases reported in Japan has been increasing since mid-May and surpassed 55,000 cases from July 8 to July 14. The average number of COVID-19 patients at Japan’s healthcare facilities that week was also 1.39 times that of the week before and KP.3 is the dominant
The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) working group for Taiwan-related policies is likely to be upgraded to a committee-level body, a report commissioned by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said. As Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is increasingly likely to upgrade the CCP’s Central Leading Group for Taiwan Affairs, Taiwanese authorities should prepare by researching Xi and the CCP, the report said. At the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the CCP, which ended on Thursday last week, the party set a target of 2029 for the completion of some tasks, meaning that Xi is likely preparing to
US-CHINA TRADE DISPUTE: Despite Beijing’s offer of preferential treatment, the lure of China has dimmed as Taiwanese and international investors move out Japan and the US have become the favored destinations for Taiwanese graduates as China’s attraction has waned over the years, the Ministry of Labor said. According to the ministry’s latest income and employment advisory published this month, 3,215 Taiwanese university graduates from the class of 2020 went to Japan, surpassing for the first time the 2,881 graduates who went to China. A total of 2,300 graduates from the class of 2021 went to the US, compared with the 2,262 who went to China, the document showed. The trend continued for the class of 2023, of whom 1,460 went to Japan, 1,334 went to