Freeway traffic volume on Sunday, the second day of the Dragon Boat Festival long weekend, dropped 63 percent compared with last year as most people have refrained from traveling amid a nationwide level 3 COVID-19 alert, the Freeway Bureau said yesterday.
Last year, the long weekend began on Thursday and ended on Sunday, while this year it began on Saturday and ended yesterday.
Bureau data showed that the traffic volume on the second day of the long weekend this year was 43.3 million vehicle kilometers (MVK), down from 114.3MVK last year.
Photo: CNA
About 760,000 vehicles were on freeways on Sunday, down from 1.51 million last year, the bureau said.
The number of vehicles traveling more than 150km dropped by about 71 percent, it said.
“We have urged people to reduce travel across different regions in compliance with the government’s disease prevention policy. Large passenger vehicles and logistics service vehicles should have priority for accessing freeways,” the bureau said.
On Thursday last week, the bureau said that it aimed to reduce the number of vehicles on freeways to about 1 million per day.
To deter road trips, the bureau extended vehicles’ wait times on feeder roads to freeways, and closed all shopping areas and food courts at freeway rest areas.
On Saturday, freeway traffic volume was down 56.6 percent at 52MVK, bureau data showed. The number of vehicles traveling more than 150km decreased 65 percent.
However, the high-intensity traffic control measures backfired as freeway commuters and logistics vehicle drivers were reported to have waited on feeder roads for more than an hour before they could access freeways.
After motorists criticized the measures, Minister of Transportation and Communications Wang Kwo-tsai (王國材) on Sunday said that, from 4pm that day, freeway traffic would be adjusted to the same volume as on regular weekends.
“China is preparing to invade Taiwan,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an exclusive interview with British media channel Sky News for a special report titled, “Is Taiwan ready for a Chinese invasion?” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today in a statement. The 25-minute-long special report by Helen Ann-Smith released yesterday saw Sky News travel to Penghu, Taoyuan and Taipei to discuss the possibility of a Chinese invasion and how Taiwan is preparing for an attack. The film observed emergency response drills, interviewed baseball fans at the Taipei Dome on their views of US President
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a "tsunami watch" alert after a magnitude 8.7 earthquake struck off the Kamchatka Peninsula in northeastern Russia earlier in the morning. The quake struck off the east coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula at 7:25am (Taiwan time) at a depth of about 19km, the CWA said, citing figures from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. The CWA's Seismological Center said preliminary assessments indicate that a tsunami could reach Taiwan's coastal areas by 1:18pm today. The CWA urged residents along the coast to stay alert and take necessary precautions as waves as high as 1m could hit the southeastern
ECONOMIC BENEFITS: The imports from Belize would replace those from Honduras, whose shrimp exports have dropped 67 percent since cutting ties in 2023 Maintaining ties with Taiwan has economic benefits, Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials said yesterday, citing the approval of frozen whiteleg shrimp imports from Belize by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an example. The FDA on Wednesday approved the tariff-free imports from Belize after the whiteleg shrimp passed the Systematic Inspection of Imported Food, which would continue to boost mutual trade, the ministry said. Taiwan’s annual consumption of whiteleg shrimps stands at 30,000 tonnes, far exceeding domestic production, the ministry said. Taiwan used to fill the gap by importing shrimps from Honduras, but purchases slumped after Tegucigalpa severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan
The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a southwestern extension of the Sanying MRT Line from New Taipei to Bade District (八德) in Taoyuan, with a goal of starting construction by late 2026. The 4.03-kilometer extension, featuring three new stations, will run from the current terminus at Yingtao Fude Station (LB12) in New Taipei City to Dannan Station (LB14), where it will connect with Taoyuan’s Green Line, New Taipei City Metro Corp said in a statement. This extension will follow the completion of core Sanying Line, a 14.29-kilometer medium-capacity system linking Tucheng (土城), Sansia (三峽)
RSS