Starting on Jan. 1, YouBike riders must have insurance to use the service, and a six-month trial of NT$5 coupons under certain conditions would be implemented to balance bike shortages, a joint statement from transportation departments across Taipei, New Taipei City and Taoyuan announced yesterday.
The rental bike system operator said that coupons would be offered to riders to rent bikes from full stations, for riders who take out an electric-assisted bike from a full station, and for riders who return a bike to an empty station.
All riders with YouBike accounts are automatically eligible for the program, and each membership account can receive two coupons within 10 minutes, starting with the first coupon.
Photo: CNA
The coupons would be delivered to the account before 7am the next day and would be valid for 90 days, the operators said, adding that multiple coupons could be used, but cannot be gifted to others.
Taipei City Government Department of Transportation Division of Transportation Management head Hsieh Lin-ting (謝霖霆) said 90 percent of city rental bike users are insured, adding that noninsured users can purchase insurance through the government’s YouBike Web site.
Maximum payout for bone fractures, hospitalization, loss of function or death as a result of riding rental bikes can reach up to NT$1 million (US$31,982), while funeral expenses, or insurance payout for loss of bodily function as a result of accidents would be covered for riders younger than 15 Hsieh said.
Daily hospitalization payouts are capped at NT$1,000, Hsieh added.
New Taipei City Department of Transportation official Wu Cheng-yen (吳政諺) said users must match the registered rider for the insurance to pay out, adding that when parents lend their cards to their children, the insurance information should be up to date.
Taoyuan Department of Transportation Deputy Director-General Hsiung Chi-chung (熊啟中) said it is difficult to obtain or return bikes during peak hours and that the New Taipei City and Taipei city governments usually dispatch additional staff and trucks to ensure sufficient bikes in high-usage areas.
Users could help by returning bikes to empty stations, Hsiung said.
Taipei has 22,410 Version 2 (V2) bikes and 2,400 Version 2E (V2E) bikes, or electric-assisted bikes, across 1,708 stations, with 201,000 riders daily, government data showed.
New Taipei City has 21,379 V2 bikes and 2,100 V2E bikes across 1,506 stations with 130,000 to 150,000 riders daily. Taoyuan has 10,466 V2 bikes and 1,641 V2E bikes across 629 stations with 40,000 to 50,000 riders daily.
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