Cycling enthusiasts joined Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Lin Yueh-chin (林月琴) on Thursday in demanding that the government improve road safety and protect the rights of riders, ahead of World Bicycle Day on Tuesday next week.
“It is time to make Taiwan’s cities more friendly to bicycles, and reduce reliance on automobiles,” Lin told a news conference at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei.
Lin was accompanied by Tauno Kelder, an Estonian national living in Taipei and founder of the Taipei Bicycle Commuter organization, and Vision Zero Taiwan member Tsai Yi-hui (蔡奕輝).
Photo: CNA
Commuting by bike is not easy in Taiwan, Lin said.
“When riding on sidewalks, we intrude on pedestrians, but when we switch to roads, it could be unsettling and dangerous with motorcycles zipping past,” Lin said. “We feel quite helpless.”
Taiwan lacks a concrete “bicycle policy,” the three said at the news conference, with Kelder holding a sign that read “Enhance right of way for bicycles,” while Tsai’s sign read “Institute public education on rights of bicycle riders.”
Bicycle use in Taiwan has been declining — from 5.6 percent of the population in 2009 to 3.3 percent in 2022, Lin said, citing Ministry of Transportation and Communications data.
“Taipei has the funding and resources to make massive investments in bicycle paths and related basic infrastructures, but the city’s bicycle commuter rate had only shrunk from 2.7 percent in 2004 to 2.4 percent two decades later,” she said.
Meanwhile, bike accidents involving young people aged seven to 17 jumped more than 40 percent from 3,946 in 2020 to 5,644 last year, she said.
These figures run counter to the government’s stated aim of encouraging more people to take up cycling as a healthy and sustainable way of commuting, Lin said.
“With bicycle use declining, while cycling-related injuries and fatalities rise, it is clear that the overall environment has become more hostile to bicycle riders,” she added.
Tsai said increased self-awareness and defensive maneuvers alone would not ensure safety for riders.
“While the government has been encouraging the public to use bicycles, it has not concurrently worked to improve basic road infrastructures, nor has it examined road safety issues,” Tsai said.
“The government must enact policies to provide more safe spaces and paths, strictly enforce compliance, raise awareness about safety and protect all groups of road users,” Tsai said. “The government should institute a real ‘bicycle policy’ that must be integrated into needed reforms of the overall transport network plans to reduce road accidents for all types of vehicles,” he said.
As a daily bicycle commuter on the streets of Taipei, Kelder said he has experienced Taiwan’s contradictory transportation policies.
On one hand, he sees the government urge the public to take up cycling to promote health, environmental sustainability and other benefits, he said.
However, the government’s only solution is the YouBike system, while basic road infrastructures and traffic law statutes seem to send out the message that “bicycle riders are not welcome,” he said.
“We often hear government officials saying there is no more room on the road for bicycles. This actually means the government continues to allow automobiles to occupy all road spaces. Many people also have said that biking is very dangerous, but the real danger comes from being forced to ride in this dangerous environment,” he added.
Given Taiwan’s high population density and limited land area, the priority should be chooosing a mode of transportation that is healthy, efficient, energy-saving and safe, Kelder said.
The transportation ministry, the Ministry of Education and the National Land Management Agency should consider bicycles not only a tourist attraction or for leisure, but as a mode for daily commutes that is worth developing, the trio said.
It is time to amend outdated laws and regulations governing traffic and transportation, which are not suitable in the current environment, they said.
They pointed out the need to increase the safety distance required when overtaking another vehicle in a parallel lane to 1.5m to 2m as stipulated in international standards.
“The government must change its mindset about urban planning and road design, which only focused on automobiles. We must revamp the overall city planning on public spaces to allocate more room for other types of vehicles, and must ensure legal protection provide a safe and right of way for bicycle riders,” Lin said.
“China is preparing to invade Taiwan,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an exclusive interview with British media channel Sky News for a special report titled, “Is Taiwan ready for a Chinese invasion?” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today in a statement. The 25-minute-long special report by Helen Ann-Smith released yesterday saw Sky News travel to Penghu, Taoyuan and Taipei to discuss the possibility of a Chinese invasion and how Taiwan is preparing for an attack. The film observed emergency response drills, interviewed baseball fans at the Taipei Dome on their views of US President
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a "tsunami watch" alert after a magnitude 8.7 earthquake struck off the Kamchatka Peninsula in northeastern Russia earlier in the morning. The quake struck off the east coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula at 7:25am (Taiwan time) at a depth of about 19km, the CWA said, citing figures from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. The CWA's Seismological Center said preliminary assessments indicate that a tsunami could reach Taiwan's coastal areas by 1:18pm today. The CWA urged residents along the coast to stay alert and take necessary precautions as waves as high as 1m could hit the southeastern
ECONOMIC BENEFITS: The imports from Belize would replace those from Honduras, whose shrimp exports have dropped 67 percent since cutting ties in 2023 Maintaining ties with Taiwan has economic benefits, Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials said yesterday, citing the approval of frozen whiteleg shrimp imports from Belize by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an example. The FDA on Wednesday approved the tariff-free imports from Belize after the whiteleg shrimp passed the Systematic Inspection of Imported Food, which would continue to boost mutual trade, the ministry said. Taiwan’s annual consumption of whiteleg shrimps stands at 30,000 tonnes, far exceeding domestic production, the ministry said. Taiwan used to fill the gap by importing shrimps from Honduras, but purchases slumped after Tegucigalpa severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan
The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a southwestern extension of the Sanying MRT Line from New Taipei to Bade District (八德) in Taoyuan, with a goal of starting construction by late 2026. The 4.03-kilometer extension, featuring three new stations, will run from the current terminus at Yingtao Fude Station (LB12) in New Taipei City to Dannan Station (LB14), where it will connect with Taoyuan’s Green Line, New Taipei City Metro Corp said in a statement. This extension will follow the completion of core Sanying Line, a 14.29-kilometer medium-capacity system linking Tucheng (土城), Sansia (三峽)
RSS