Taipei is accepting applications for increased subsidies for purchases of new electric scooters, city officials said on Thursday, adding that individual packages can be up to NT$28,800.
The Taipei Department of Environmental Affairs is offering an additional NT$8,000 per vehicle on top of its existing subsidies and others provided by the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) and the Industrial Development Bureau, it said.
People who exchange a scooter would be eligible for up to NT$28,800 to go toward a purchase of a new electric scooter, or NT$19,000 without a trade-in, the department said.
Photo: Tsai Ssu-pei, Taipei Times
That is on top of its existing policies of NT$9,000 with a trade-in and NT$4,000 without, the department said.
A NT$10,000 subsidy from the department for people in disadvantaged groups who purchase a new electric scooter remains in place, it said.
The Taipei City Government has registered 24,360 electric scooters, or 8 percent of all scooters in the city, since it launched the subsidy program in February 2021, the department said.
Taipei is the nation’s leader in terms of promoting electric scooters, the department said.
As of Nov. 11, Taipei had more than 291 battery-swap stations, or 1.07 per square kilometer, it said, adding that its infrastructure makes the capital the most convenient for getting new power packs among the six municipalities.
The city government has waivers for fuel taxes and license fees for electric scooters, and would provide free parking for such vehicles until their total number in Taipei tops 13.5 percent of all scooters, the department said.
Moreover, electric scooter riders can use public charging stations free of charge, it said.
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
Tropical Storm Fung-Wong would likely strengthen into a typhoon later today as it continues moving westward across the Pacific before heading in Taiwan’s direction next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 8am, Fung-Wong was about 2,190km east-southeast of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving westward at 25kph and possibly accelerating to 31kph, CWA data showed. The tropical storm is currently over waters east of the Philippines and still far from Taiwan, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said, adding that it could likely strengthen into a typhoon later in the day. It is forecast to reach the South China Sea
WEATHER Typhoon forming: CWA A tropical depression is expected to form into a typhoon as early as today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, adding that the storm’s path remains uncertain. Before the weekend, it would move toward the Philippines, the agency said. Some time around Monday next week, it might reach a turning point, either veering north toward waters east of Taiwan or continuing westward across the Philippines, the CWA said. Meanwhile, the eye of Typhoon Kalmaegi was 1,310km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, as of 2am yesterday, it said. The storm is forecast to move through central
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing