The Directorate-General of Highways (DGH) on Monday reported on its initiative to improve public transportation in remote areas, saying that with an annual budget equivalent to building 1km of railway, life can be significantly improved for many rural residents.
As of the end of last year, the “Happy Bus” program had expanded service to 321 lines serving 120 remote communities, DGH Director-General Hsu Cheng-chang (許鉦漳) told a news conference in Taipei.
In a span of only a few years, the program has raised public transportation coverage to 89.78 percent in rural communities, Hsu added.
Photo copied by Chen Wen-yu, Taipei Times
To help address the “last-mile” problem, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications has also relaxed regulations to allow local organizations or individuals to create their own transportation service, he added.
Hsu said he hoped that the program could be extended to every corner of the country, since “happiness is being able to go wherever you please.”
Minister of Transportation and Communications Wang Kwo-tsai (王國材) said that the program is an extension of his work as Kaohsiung’s director of transportation to provide a bus-style taxi service for people living in remote areas.
Offering public transportation to remote areas can solve issues with long-term care access and help older people who cannot ride a scooter, Wang said.
The nearly NT$5 billion (US$180.6 million) spent annually on the program is the cost of building only 1km of metropolitan rail, but it can bring happiness to scores of people, he said.
The service is not frivolous, but a lifeline for many, he said, adding that he hoped the DGH would continue to expand coverage up to and including the last mile.
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