The law should be amended if most people are against allowing heavy motorcycles on freeways, Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman and presidential candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said yesterday, going back on his previous policy proposal while sharing his vision for improving transportation in the nation.
Ko last month said that he would ask the Ministry of Transportation and Communications to allow heavy motorcycles on freeways if elected, but yesterday said if the ministry says 60 percent of the public are against it, then the law should be amended to prohibit it.
He said he had spoken with members of a professional drivers’ trade union, who expressed strong opposition against letting heavy motorcycles on freeways, as they are worried that it would increase the number of fatal accidents.
Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times
He said the five major transportation problems in Taiwan are: driver-oriented traffic rules; neglect of pedestrian safety; a chaotic system that lacks nationwide planning; disregard for expertise; and politicians making empty promises about infrastructure projects.
They also include fragmented information hindering overall development, and the slow upgrade of international airports and harbors, he said.
Ko said the mortality rate caused by road traffic injuries in Taiwan is about 12.9 per 100,000 people, which is about five times that in Japan and eight times that in Norway.
Although Taiwanese believe it is just bad luck to have been hit by a car, the government must solve the problem, he said.
Ko proposed five solutions: speeding up traffic safety reforms; substantially amending traffic regulations; holding traffic reform meetings with public participation to clarify the reforms and supplementary measures; having the central government set standards; and having local governments implement the plans and give feedback.
Other solutions include leaving the evaluation of major transportation infrastructure to professionals with expertise; facing public opinion honestly; accelerating transit-oriented development; perfecting the aerial and maritime transportation network; enhancing data analysis; greening airports and harbors; cultivating professional airport and harbor personnel; integrating national data; developing intelligent transportation systems; and launching a national traffic app.
Ko criticized President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) for having pledged to build a light railway between Taipei and Keelung, but allowing the planned budget to increase many times. The project is still not completed and Ko said he doubts that it would succeed.
The feasibility of transportation development plans must be assessed before allocating budgets, or else election promises are empty, he said.
The former Taipei mayor said the traffic congestion problem in Taipei’s Neihu District (內湖) is a typical example of failed urban planning, and that he had said “there is no hope for Neihu’s traffic” because the district’s population has increased fourfold in the past 30 years, but its roads did not.
He said the only two solutions are to finish the Taipei MRT circular line or to introduce a differential charging system in the district, making drivers of private vehicles pay more for driving into the district during certain hours.
Meanwhile, Ko said he had initiated a “five-five project” to encourage his supporters to phone their elderly family members for five minutes per day five days per week, as many elderly people do not use the Internet, and the information they receive from TV and radio is limited.
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