Independent Taipei mayoral candidate Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei mayoral candidate Chiang Wan-an’s (蔣萬安) proposal to reinstate 30 minutes of free service for YouBike rentals is a “blockhead” idea.
Meanwhile, Chiang’s campaign office said that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has copied its idea of expanding a monthly public transportation pass program.
Chiang in a TV interview on Tuesday was asked which policy of former Taipei mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) would he like to restore if he is elected mayor.
Photo: CNA
Chiang said he would reinstate the 30-minute free YouBike rental service to encourage ridership and reduce carbon emissions.
The service allowed people to ride YouBikes for free for the first 30 minutes.
Asked about Chiang’s proposal, Huang, who is a former Taipei deputy mayor, yesterday said: “I do not want to say that he [Chiang] is a blockhead, but this policy idea is a blockhead idea.”
She said Chiang is completely unfamiliar with the YouBike service, adding that the free rental policy was implemented when YouBike had been recently launched to encourage people to use it.
However, many people kept changing bikes within the 30-minute window to avoid paying rental fees, which led to a waste of resources, she said.
As a solution, a rental fee of NT$5 (US$0.16) was introduced for the first 30 minutes, she said.
Restoring the free service would cost the city government NT$500 million, Huang said.
“Why would anyone want to return to the situation eight years ago when the city has improved so much since then,” she said.
Chiang should study the progress of Taipei instead of proposing to spend money on old policies, she added.
Separately, DPP mayoral candidates for Taipei, New Taipei City, Keelung and Taoyuan on Tuesday proposed expanding a monthly public transportation pass in Taipei and New Taipei City to cover intercity buses, as well as Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) and Taoyuan Airport MRT services, at a monthly rate of NT$1,200, instead of the current NT$1,280.
Chiang’s campaign office deputy spokesperson Hsiao Yu-yun (蕭羽耘) and KMT Taipei City Councilor Wang Hung-wei (王鴻薇) yesterday said the KMT had already held a public hearing on Oct. 7 proposing to expand the monthly public transportation pass service to include TRA and Taoyuan Airport MRT services, albeit at the current fee of NT$1,280.
The DPP has copied the KMT’s idea, they said.
The central government would need to provide a subsidy of about NT$1 billion annually for the KMT’s proposal, while it would need to provide about NT$3.5 billion for the DPP’s plan, Wang said.
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