In the past, when walking down a narrow alley, from time to time a car or a scooter would roar by and cause you to break into a cold sweat. Or, after a hard day of work, upon driving home, you found all of the alleys and roads had painted red lines or were occupied by vehicles parked for a long period of time. You then drove around the area near your home for an hour without finding a parking space. That was enough to drive anyone crazy or create frustration.
This dangerous situation in which pedestrians and vehicles compete for space was once considered a difficult challenge to resolve. However, after taking office, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je took up the fight to improve the city’s traffic. For instance, he boldly removed the bus lane on Zhongxiao West Road. Focusing on street corners, lanes and alleys, he specifically proposed the Neighborhood Transportation Environment Improvement Project. Xinying Li (新營里) in Zhongzheng District was chosen as the first model neighborhood. Favorable feedback has been received following the completion of improvements in August of this year. In fact, the overall satisfaction rate among neighborhood residents is as high as 83 percent, and it has become a bright spot in the city government’s transportation policies.
In addition, 93 public parking lots around Taipei City now provide one hour of free parking to taxi drivers so that they can take breaks. With the enactment of a new YouBike pricing policy which has led to a reduction in turnover rate, city residents now find it easier to rent a bicycle.
Resolving the Disorder Caused by Illegal Parking
In the past, major and secondary transportation arteries were the focus of city government transportation improvement measures. The Neighborhood Transportation Environment Improvement Project makes use of the Li as a unit. For each Li a specialized plan is developed based on a deep understanding of the lanes and alleys and other local conditions, with measures suited to that particular neighborhood. In April of this year, Xinying Li of Zhongzheng District was chosen as the model neighborhood for this project. With the concepts of human-oriented transportation as a starting point, priority was given to the creation of delineated pedestrian paths in this Li’s alleyways, where feasible, to provide a safe pedestrian environment and to break away from the past situation in which pedestrians had to always be on guard against passing scooters and cars. Once pedestrian and vehicle lanes were delineated, excess space in alleyways was planned for scooter and car parking, creating regulated and ordered parking. In addition, no parking zones for scooters and bicycles along arcades were implemented or arcades were made level with pedestrian paths.
At the same time, a survey of the necessity for vehicle barriers was conducted to provide obstacle-free, unimpeded passage. To avoid hindering fire engines during firefighting and rescue operations, some red lines in lanes and alleys were repainted yellow, with temporary stopping allowed during the day for loading and unloading of passengers and goods and parking allowed between 8 pm and 7 am. At alley intersections, based on relevant traffic regulations, red lines were shortened from ten meters to five meters. The excess area was transformed into scooter parking. Thus, the number of parking spaces for scooters did not decrease, but rather increased. After the completion of these improvements, the Taipei City Government’s Department of Transportation conducted a public survey. The results indicated that 87.5 percent of residents approved of the pedestrian paths, and overall satisfaction with the improvements in Xinying Li reached 83 percent.
He Guorong, head of Xinying Li, says that during the Neighborhood Transportation Environment Improvement Project an appropriate number of red lines were changed to yellow lines which allowed for shortterm parking. This not only eliminated the myth of painting red lines to prevent parking violations, but also deterred drivers from parking in marked pedestrian paths, resolving the disorder from illegally parked cars. At the same time, space has been allocated to both pedestrians and vehicles, and a barrierfree environment has been created. With the Li as the implementation unit, local
residents are able to carry out discussions and work together to implement improvements, reducing waste, and even more, resolving the chaos of illegally parked vehicles, thereby fulfilling multiple purposes.
Zhang Shengwan, Division Chief of the Traffic Regulation Division (治理科科長張生萬) of the Department of Transportation, Taipei City Government,points out that the city government has actively been working to improve the transportation environment by upgrading street parking spaces, red and yellow lines, signs and trench covers, and repaving road surfaces. The objective of the Neighborhood Transportation Environment Improvement Project is to slowly expand lines and surfaces from specific points. In the first wave of this project, 30 Li were eager to be involved. As of the end of October of this year, 49 Li have been included. The objective is to complete improvements in 30 Li before the end of this year and in all 456 Li by 2020.
Public Parking Lots Provide Space for Taxi Drivers to “Recharge” Before Hitting the Roads
In 2007, Taipei City began providing 30-minute free parking to taxi drivers in public parking structures and underground parking lots in order to provide them with a place to take a break. However, the usage rate was somewhat low. After taking office, Ko immediately made a change, extending the amount of free parking time from the original 30 minutes to one hour, and clear signage is provided at the entrance to each of these parking facilities. Taxi drivers only need to follow the instructions on the signs when entering these parking lots to enjoy one hour of free parking. The parking areas also provide mobile communications service; therefore, drivers do not need to fear that they will miss out on phone calls from potential customers.
The drivers themselves feel that this policy is very helpful. For example, Mr. Li says that before this policy change, he would feel very tired from having to drive all day because it was not very easy to find a place to rest. Now, no matter whether he wants to take an afternoon nap or get something to eat, he can find a parking lot and have enough time to “fully recharge” before heading out on the road to pick up passengers. He no longer has to be anxious about receiving a ticket even if he just stops to eat.
The Department of Transportation, Taipei City Government, emphasizes that the city government’s ultimate goal is to reduce the number of empty taxis on the roads in Taipei City and to gradually increase free parking areas for taxis. This can bring about reductions in both air pollution due to car exhaust and working hours for taxi drivers.
High Public Acceptance of YouBike User Fee System
Riding a YouBike has become a regular part of life in Taipei City. To allow for the sustainable development of Taipei City’s public bicycle rental service, YouBike, the Department of Transportation, Taipei City Government conducted a telephone survey of city residents, the results of which revealed widespread support for a new user payment policy. Therefore, from April 1st of this year, the first 30-minute free use policy was replaced with an NTD 5 charge.
Based on demand models estimated by the Department of Transportation, Taipei City Government, usage is expected to drop to 70 percent following implementation of the policy. However, the daily turnover rate for each bicycle decreased from 10.8 to 8.15, or about 75 percent of the rate before implementation. This indicates that with the introduction of this new pricing policy, those who really need to rent a bicycle will be able to do so. In addition, the monthly subsidies for this program provided by the city government will decline from NTD 17.83 million to NTD 7.91 million, creating an average annual savings of NTD 119.04 million.
In April of this year, the Department of Transportation, Taipei City Government established the YouBike Suggestions for Adding Station Platform to gather suggestions from the public regarding new stations. A total of 2,200 places have been suggested for adding YouBike stations, and based on evaluations of space and demand, the Department of Transportation, Taipei City Government has selected 53 priority sites to add YouBike stations that will enable YouBike to become more thoroughly intertwined with city life.
Currently, 196 YouBike rental stations have been established. The ultimate goal is to set up 400 stations. When that goal is accomplished, there will be a YouBike rental station within 350 meters of any location in Taipei City. It is estimated that beginning next year, the YouBike system will expand by 50 to 60 stations yearly with the 400 station mark to be reached in 2018.
Top Ten Bike Paths
The Sports Administration of the Ministry of Education (教育部體育署) organized the first-ever selection process for Taiwan’s top 10 bike paths. Taipei City’s riverside bikeways were chosen due to their friendly and thoughtful design, which resulted in Taipei City receiving Taiwan’s only special award for accessibility. Liu Jiayou, Chief of the Transportation Management Division (運輸管理科科長劉嘉祐) of the Department of Transportation, notes that Taipei’s riverside bike paths are located in close proximity to many of Taipei residents’ daily life activity areas. They combine nature and ecology, culture and history and recreation and fun, as well as many of the city’s fine foods and dining spots. Furthermore, they connect 28 riverside parks, totaling a distance of 112 kilometers and passing through Dajia Riverside Park (大佳河濱公園), Hua Zhung Campsite (華中露營場), Guandu Dadaocheng Historical Park (關渡大稻埕歷史公園) and Shezidao Ecological Wetlands (社子島生態溼地). Liu says that a one day tour of these bikeways requires cycling more than 100 kilometers. Moreover, each of the bicycle rental stations provides free maintenance service, drinking water and emergency rescue services. Moreover, hand-operated bicycles can be rented to allow those with physical disabilities to experience the pleasure of a bike ride.
Mr. Ma, a frequent YouBike user, says that following the implementation of the new YouBike pricing policy it is easier to rent a bicycle. YouBike is not just for cycling to and from work on weekdays, but also for enjoying the riverside bikeways on weekends. Only a small amount of money is required to partake in a leisurely and carefree getaway.
Getting around Taipei is easy! Taipei prides itself on convenient transportation. From improvements in the transportation environment at the neighbourhood level and resolving the chaos resulting from illegally parked vehicles, to providing convenient places for taxi drivers to rest and implementing the YouBike pricing policy reform, Taipei’s transportation environment has risen to a whole new level.
