The Siluo Service Area on the Sun Yat-sen Freeway (Freeway No. 1) yesterday became the first freeway rest area that is equipped with express charging stations for electric vehicles (EV), the Freeway Bureau said.
The combined charging system is provided by North-Star International Petech Co, the contractor who runs the CPC gas station at the northbound side of the Siluo Service Area, the bureau said, adding that the service area is also the first gasoline stop for a majority of northbound travelers from the south.
The two charging ports installed in the Siluo Service Area can simultaneously charge four electric vehicles, the bureau said.
Photo: Huang Shu-li, Taipei Times
To access the service, motorists must first download an app developed by North-Star International and scan the QR code on the charging port before connecting the port to an electric vehicle for charging, it said.
During the trial phase, users must sign up to be a member, it added.
Drivers are to be charged NT$12 per kilowatt, but they can avail of a 25 percent discount from now until Oct. 15.
The bureau said it aims to have 130 parking spaces built for express power charging at service areas along freeways by 2025 in line with the government policy of promoting the use of electric vehicles.
As of last month, the nation had 16,211 registered electric and about 100,000 hybrid vehicles, Ministry of Transportation and Communications data showed.
The bureau also announced that it would soon conduct an inventory check of the electronic freeway toll collection (ETC) system built by Far Eastern Electronic Toll Collection Co (FETC) before the concession ends in 2025.
The company in December 2004 secured the contract to build the ETC system, giving it an exclusive right to operate the system for 20 years before transferring it to the government.
With the contract expiring on Dec. 21, 2025, the bureau said it must start preparing for the asset transfer, including a comprehensive inventory check and evaluation of the contractor’s annual performance.
The contract also requires the bureau to start negotiating a new contract with a new ETC system operator two years before the contract expires.
As FETC built the current system, it has the right of priority to negotiate a new contract with the bureau, as long as it passes annual evaluations and meets the ETC system accuracy rate set by the bureau.
The bureau has also tasked a consulting firm to assess terms for a new contract.
If the bureau and FETC fail to reach an agreement on a new contract, the bureau would have to find a new contractor through a public tender, the bureau said.
In other news, three sections of the Suhua Highway that have been upgraded for safety reasons would be open to heavy motorcycles starting Thursday next week as part of a six-month trial, the Directorate-General of Highways announced last night.
The three sections are: from Suao (蘇澳) to Dongao (東澳) in Yilan County, from Nanao (南澳) in Yilan to Heping (和平) in Hualien County, and from Hejhong (和中) to Heren (和仁) in Hualien.
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