Passengers of Taipei MRT System’s Wenhu Line (Brown Line) can check how crowded the carriages are using the Taipei MRT app, as well as displays in the stations, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) said yesterday.
The company has made the service available on the busiest MRT Line after testing it for one year on the Bannan Line (Blue Line). It is also offering it at a time when the nation has seen a rise in local COVID-19 cases.
A survey conducted by TRTC in 2016 identified the 10 most crowded sections of MRT lines during peak hours, nine of which were on the Brown Line. The most busy section on the list was between Zhongxiao Fuxing and Nanjing Fuxing stations.
Photo courtesy of Chinatrust Real Estate Co
From 8am to 9am, an average of 4.07 people stood within 1m2 on trains from Zhongxiao Fuxing to Nanjing Fuxing, the survey showed.
Between 6pm and 7pm, trains from Nanjing Fuxing to Zhongxiao Fuxing stations had an average of 3.96 people standing in 1m2, the survey showed.
The company said that its self-developed alert system uses four levels to indicate how crowded carriages are: green means passengers can move inside carriages without any trouble; yellow means passengers can move easily inside carriages; orange means carriages are slightly crowded and passengers need to turn sideways to pass each other; and red means carriages are very crowded and it is difficult for passengers to move around.
Photo: Tsai Szu-pei, Taipei Times
By next year, the service would also be available for passengers on Tamsui-Xinyi Line (Red Line), Songshan-Xindian Line (Green Line) and the Zhonghe-Xinlu Line (Orange Line), TRTC said.
In other news, people at Zhongxiao Fuxing Station can now wait for a train at “Metro Corner,” where they can watch updates of MRT services, weather reports and breaking news, the company said.
The corner also has an automatic coffee machine and a vending machine, which allow people to pay using cash or mobile payments, it added.
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