Shin-Shin Bus Co chairman Fan Ta-wei (范大維) resigned yesterday after one of the company’s buses struck and killed a doctor at a crosswalk in Taipei the previous day.
During a news conference, Fan publicly apologized and announced that the company would take full responsibility for the incident.
The victim, 60-year-old Chou Chia-cheng (周佳正), was the head of the breast surgery department at Taoyuan General Hospital. Chou, who had the right of way, was hit by a bus making a legal left turn from Roosevelt Road onto Aiguo W Road and later succumbed to his injuries at the hospital.
Photo: Chen Yi-shan, Taipei Times
Fan said that the 63-year-old bus driver, surnamed Lee (李), had nearly 20 years of experience and a clean record, although he had previously been reprimanded for skipping bus stops. Lee retired in March, but was rehired in May.
Fan said that the crash might have occurred due to Lee’s failure to stop and perform a required “point-and-call” safety check before turning. This protocol mandates that drivers come to a full stop and use hand gestures to visually confirm that the path is clear of pedestrians or obstacles.
Police said Lee was not under the influence of alcohol, and the cause of the crash remains under investigation.
Prosecutors released Lee on NT$50,000 bail after questioning him on Saturday on suspicion of negligent homicide.
Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) yesterday said that he has requested bus operators to propose improvement measures and instructed transportation officials to reassess the safety features of the intersection where the fatal incident occurred.
Chiang said that the focus would be on the area near Roosevelt Road and the northwest side of Aiguo W Road, exploring the feasibility of moving the crosswalk further from the junction to improve visibility and safety.
Transportation officials said they would review pedestrian signal timings and install countdown timers and pedestrian refuge islands at the 75m intersection where the incident took place.
Advocacy group Vision Zero Taiwan urged the city to mandate that all buses be equipped with blind-spot detection and automatic emergency braking systems.
The group also called for revisions to traffic regulations to remove vague language that might shift responsibility onto pedestrians.
Taoyuan General Hospital released a statement mourning Chou’s death, describing him as a skilled and compassionate surgeon whose passing is an irreplaceable loss to the hospital.
The hospital praised his long-standing dedication to breast cancer surgery and his significant contributions to advancing the surgical department and the acute trauma medical team.
The Taipei Department of Health’s latest inspection of fresh fruit and vegetables sold in local markets revealed a 25 percent failure rate, with most contraventions involving excessive pesticide residues, while two durians were also found to contain heavy metal cadmium at levels exceeding safety limits. Health Food and Drug Division Director Lin Kuan-chen (林冠蓁) yesterday said the agency routinely conducts inspections of fresh produce sold at traditional markets, supermarkets, hypermarkets, retail outlets and restaurants, testing for pesticide residues and other harmful substances. In its most recent inspection, conducted in May, the department randomly collected 52 samples from various locations, with testing showing
The government should improve children’s outdoor spaces and accelerate carbon reduction programs, as the risk of heat-related injury due to high summer temperatures rises each year, Greenpeace told a news conference yesterday. Greenpeace examined summer temperatures in Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Hsinchu City, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung to determine the effects of high temperatures and climate change on children’s outdoor activities, citing data garnered by China Medical University, which defines a wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT) of 29°C or higher as posing the risk of heat-related injury. According to the Central Weather Administration, WBGT, commonly referred to as the heat index, estimates
Taipei and other northern cities are to host air-raid drills from 1:30pm to 2pm tomorrow as part of urban resilience drills held alongside the Han Kuang exercises, Taiwan’s largest annual military exercises. Taipei, New Taipei City, Keelung, Taoyuan, Yilan County, Hsinchu City and Hsinchu County are to hold the annual Wanan air defense exercise tomorrow, following similar drills held in central and southern Taiwan yesterday and today respectively. The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) and Maokong Gondola are to run as usual, although stations and passenger parking lots would have an “entry only, no exit” policy once air raid sirens sound, Taipei
Taipei placed 14th in the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) Best Student Cities 2026 list, its highest ever, according to results released yesterday. With an overall score of 89.1, the city climbed 12 places from the previous year, surpassing its previous best ranking of 17th in 2019. Taipei is “one of Asia’s leading higher-education hubs,” with strong employer activity scores and students “enjoying their experience of the city and often keen to stay after graduation,” a QS staff writer said. In addition to Taipei, Hsinchu (71st), Tainan (92nd), Taichung (113th) and Taoyuan (130th) also made QS’ list of the top 150 student cities. Hsinchu showed the
RSS