Scooter-sharing companies in New Taipei City are to be required to create a system for banning scofflaw riders after data showed that traffic infractions they incurred were 10 times that of regular scooter riders.
Scooter sharing has become ubiquitous in the city since WeMo launched its services there in early 2019.
Three other firms — iRent, Gogoro’s GoShare and CarPlus’ GoSmart — have since entered the market, offering a combined 17,246 scooters for short-term rentals in 16 districts across the city.
Photo: Cheng Ming-hsiang, Taipei Times
However, New Taipei City Transportation Department data show that the system poses a challenge to road safety, with traffic infractions and crashes in the first six months of this year involving vehicles that the companies provide far exceeding those among other riders.
Shared scooter riders were involved in 376.8 traffic infractions per 1,000 riders in the year to June, compared with 34.7 among all other scooter riders, the data showed.
Improper parking was the most common report, followed by improper adherence to road signs and speeding, the department said.
Riders of shared scooters were involved in nearly triple the number of crashes, with 6.3 per 1,000 scooters compared with 2.1 per 1,000 among all others, it said.
Department Director Chung Ming-shih (鍾鳴時) told a meeting of the city council’s road safety committee on Tuesday that the department would require greater oversight.
The operators have already been asked to create a “blacklist” of customers found guilty of drunk driving, driving without a license or other dangerous activity, Chung said.
They are also required to set up an inquiry system for the government to check scooter distribution, he said.
As the city is closely integrated with Taipei and Taoyuan, Chung also called for cooperation to set up an evaluation mechanism for vehicle sharing to improve safety and quality.
The report follows calls last month by Taipei City Councilor Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) for better oversight of scooter sharing in the capital.
At a Taipei City Council meeting, Wu cited data that showed riders of shared scooters were responsible for 21,937 infractions last year.
The most common offense was parking tickets, which accounted for more than 57 percent of all such tickets issued in the city last year, Wu’s data showed.
Additional reporting by Kuo An-chia
The Ministry of Finance this afternoon announced the winning numbers for the March-April uniform invoice lottery. The winning number for the NT$10 million (US$318,060) special prize is 19531471, and the winning number for the NT$2 million grand prize is 85941329. Three numbers were drawn for the NT$200,000 first prize: 07225810, 20231230 and 83518781. Those with receipts matching the last seven digits of any of the first-prize numbers will win the NT$40,000 second prize, while those matching the last six digits will win the NT$10,000 third prize. Those whose receipts match the last five digits of the first-prize numbers can claim the NT$4,000 fourth prize,
SIX SUBSIDIES: The monthly allowance for older farmers is to increase to NT$10,000, and NT$5,000 is to be given to homemakers under the national pension system, Lai said The government is to implement major welfare policies for disadvantaged groups, including raising the monthly allowance for older farmers to NT$10,000 and providing homemakers with NT$5,000 per month, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday. Lai made the remarks during a visit to Wangling Temple in Chiayi County, saying that the planned increases were being introduced amid economic growth and an increase in tax revenue. Touting a policy, in which the government plans to provide a monthly allowance of NT$5,000 for every child under the age of 18 in a bid to address Taiwan’s low birthrate, Lai said that if received for the
STAY COOL: The HPA recommended that people stay hydrated, use air-conditioning or fans while indoors, wear loose-fitting clothes and walk in the shade while outdoors Employers must implement measures such as installing cooling equipment, and providing drinking water and rest breaks for outdoor workers starting from Monday next week, the Taipei Department of Labor said on Sunday. Employers who fail to comply could face fines of NT$30,000 to NT$300,000 under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (職業安全衛生法), the department said. Businesses in Taipei employing fewer than 100 workers, as well as registered self-employed workers with labor insurance coverage, could receive on-site assessments and guidance from occupational safety consultants to help them apply for central government subsidies to implement or improve heat-protection measures, it said. Under the Ministry of
ISOLATION: The outposts would serve as support and backup bases, forcing US forces to either face China head-on or reroute, increasing travel time and operational costs China’s outposts in the South China Sea could be used to delay and constrain foreign forces during a conflict in the Taiwan Strait, giving Beijing a critical window to carry out amphibious landing and blockade operations, a report said. The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) forward operating bases on islands and reclaimed features in the South China Sea could delay foreign forces long enough for the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to secure a key 48-to-72-hour window in the Taiwan Strait, a report commissioned by the Mainland Affairs Council found. The report, conducted by the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, examined
RSS