People using Taipei’s YouBike rental service will not be charged for the first 30 minutes of rides from today, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said yesterday.
The move to make the first half an hour of each ride free is to help achieve the Taipei City Government’s goals of reducing carbon emissions by 40 percent by 2030 and increasing the proportion of journeys taken with green transportation to 70 percent, Chiang said.
The Taipei Department of Transportation said that the number of YouBike stations would be expanded to 2,000 by 2026 from 1,338 today, and the number of bikes would be increased to 27,500 from 16,562.
Photo: CNA
However, the time between returning a YouBike and taking another would be increased to 10 minutes from five, it said.
As the first 30 minutes will be free, the city will no longer offer discounts for people who transfer to a public bus or the MRT, it added.
About 90 percent of YouBike trips last less than 30 minutes, the department said, adding that 52 percent do not involve a transfer to other public transportation, indicating that YouBike use in Taipei is primarily for short trips.
For rides that last longer than 30 minutes — which until today cost NT$10 — the fees will remain the same, it said.
After the initial free period, riders will be charged NT$10 for every 30 minutes up to the four-hour mark, NT$20 for every 30 minutes between the fourth and eighth hour, and NT$40 per half hour after the eighth hour of use, it said.
The department said it estimates a 15 percent increase in rentals, or 27 million journeys per year that will benefit from the free 30 minute rentals.
Asked about concerns that bikes would be harder to find due to the free 30-minute rule, the department said that 1,780 bikes were added to the network in May last year and 1,500 were added in December last year.
Moreover, data analysis was being used to optimize the YouBike system, it added.
Two-thousand additional bikes have been added this month and there are plans to increase the total number of bikes in the network by about 6,000 by the end of this year, which will help address shortage issues, it said.
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