A digital reward program used to track personal carbon reduction for taking public transportation would lower its threshold next year to attract more users, local officials in northern Taiwan said yesterday.
The Keelung, Taipei, New Taipei City and Taoyuan governments last year jointly launched the “My Carbon Reduction Passbook” program, which has since recorded more than 440,000 users with a total carbon reduction of about 55,000 tonnes.
At a joint news conference in Taipei, the city’s Deputy Mayor Chang Wen-te (張溫德) said the program effortlessly incorporates carbon reduction into daily life.
Photo: Tung Kuan-yi, Taipei Times
The platform calculates personal carbon reduction amounts from using public transportation, he said.
While a tree absorbs about 12kg to 13kg of carbon per year on average, the program’s redemption threshold for rewards would be lowered to 5kg from 20kg in carbon reduction, equivalent to one-third of a tree’s annual carbon absorption, Chang said.
That is expected to make the program more engaging to users, he said.
Users across the four cities have amounted to more than 449,000 people as of yesterday, Chang said, adding that local authorities are working on technical challenges to expand the program from public transportation to other areas.
Keelung Deputy Mayor Chiu Pei-lin (邱佩琳) said the number of users has increased by 160,000 this year thanks to public-private cooperation.
Keelung has the second-highest commuter rate and the highest electric scooter rate among the nation’s administrative regions, and the city is dedicated to environmental protection, she said.
The city government would collaborate with universities and local companies to promote energy saving and carbon reduction in the city, with the goal of boosting the number of users to 600,000 next year, she said.
New Taipei City Deputy Mayor Liu Ho-jan (劉和然) said the commercial, industrial and transportation sectors were the top three carbon emission sources in the city.
It is important to promote carbon reduction via public transportation, including the high-speed rail, traditional railways, metro systems, light rail systems and buses, he said.
New Taipei City’s Sanying Line would come into operation next year and be included in the program, he said.
As Taiwanese are committed to environmental protection, incentives could further increase participation, he said.
Taoyuan City Government Secretary-General Wen Tai-hsin (溫代欣) said he enrolled in the program on Sunday and rode a YouBike yesterday.
He pledged to step up his personal carbon reduction via the passbook.
Fifty more routes would be added to the “Taoyuan Small Bus” service — which uses nine-seater vehicles — with the goal of setting up 200 such routes in the city over the next three years, Wen said.
Several new bus routes would also be established in connection with the city’s transportation hubs, he said, adding that Taoyuan Mayor Simon Chang (張善政) would unveil further details.
Given that the Sanying Line would be operational next year, the New Taipei City Government would assist in extending the line to Taoyuan’s Bade District (八德), he said, adding that a “silver line” linking New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口) to Taoyuan’s Gueishan District (龜山) would be added to the intercity metro system.
SHIPS, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES: The ministry has announced changes to varied transportation industries taking effect soon, with a number of effects for passengers Beginning next month, the post office is canceling signature upon delivery and written inquiry services for international registered small packets in accordance with the new policy of the Universal Postal Union, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday. The new policy does not apply to packets that are to be delivered to China, the ministry said. Senders of international registered small packets would receive a NT$10 rebate on postage if the packets are sent from Jan. 1 to March 31, it added. The ministry said that three other policies are also scheduled to take effect next month. International cruise ship operators
HORROR STORIES: One victim recounted not realizing they had been stabbed and seeing people bleeding, while another recalled breaking down in tears after fleeing A man on Friday died after he tried to fight the knife-wielding suspect who went on a stabbing spree near two of Taipei’s busiest metro stations, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. The 57-year-old man, identified by his family name, Yu (余), encountered the suspect at Exit M7 of Taipei Main Station and immediately tried to stop him, but was fatally wounded and later died, Chiang said, calling the incident “heartbreaking.” Yu’s family would receive at least NT$5 million (US$158,584) in compensation through the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp’s (TRTC) insurance coverage, he said after convening an emergency security response meeting yesterday morning. National
The Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency yesterday launched a gift box to market honey “certified by a Formosan black bear” in appreciation of a beekeeper’s amicable interaction with a honey-thieving bear. Beekeeper Chih Ming-chen (池明鎮) in January inspected his bee farm in Hualien County’s Jhuosi Township (卓溪) and found that more than 20 beehives had been destroyed and many hives were eaten, with bear droppings and paw prints near the destroyed hives, the agency said. Chih returned to the farm to move the remaining beehives away that evening when he encountered a Formosan black bear only 20m away, the agency said. The bear
PLANNED: The suspect visited the crime scene before the killings, seeking information on how to access the roof, and had extensively researched a 2014 stabbing incident The suspect in a stabbing attack that killed three people and injured 11 in Taipei on Friday had planned the assault and set fires at other locations earlier in the day, law enforcement officials said yesterday. National Police Agency (NPA) Director-General Chang Jung-hsin (張榮興) said the suspect, a 27-year-old man named Chang Wen (張文), began the attacks at 3:40pm, first setting off smoke bombs on a road, damaging cars and motorbikes. Earlier, Chang Wen set fire to a rental room where he was staying on Gongyuan Road in Zhongzheng District (中正), Chang Jung-hsin said. The suspect later threw smoke grenades near two exits
RSS