The Taipei City Government is to expand the YouBike 2.0 system, an upgraded version of the public bicycle rental service, to 1,200 stations by the end of next year, it said on Thursday.
The upgraded system, which was launched in May, has more than 800 rental stations, surpassing the city’s target of 750 by the end of the year, Taipei Department of Transportation division head Liao Yuan-ling (廖苑伶) said.
The service’s daily users reached a high of more than 120,000 last month, with a daily average of 94,000 users, the highest among all such services in Taiwan.
Photo: CNA
After the installation of 1,200 bike-share stations, the density of stations in the city would be the highest nationwide, meaning that there would be one station every 150m to 200m on average, the city government said.
City officials also said that Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) monthly pass holders would be eligible for a discount when renting an electric motorbike from a scheme launched earlier this year in conjunction with electric motorbike operators WeMo Scooter, iRent and GoShare.
Holders of the NT$1,280 monthly pass, which covers unlimited rides on MRT trains and public buses in Taipei and New Taipei City, can rent scooters from the three operators at special rates, using the EasyWallet mobile payment service.
WeMo Scooter, iRent and GoShare have rolled out packages priced at NT$300, NT$259 and NT$299 respectively for MRT monthly pass holders to rent scooters for a limited time, the city government said.
President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) administration is seeking to join an Indo-Pacific economic framework being planned by the US, a senior official said. The government is paying close attention to the regional economic pact being touted by US President Joe Biden, although too few details have emerged from Washington for Taipei to make specific plans, the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. The US is expected to launch the Indo-Pacific economic framework next month after negotiations with Australia, India and Japan, the official said. The economic initiative is to tackle trade facilitation, standards for the digital economy and technology, supply-chain resiliency and
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