Rising gas prices have persuaded some of the nation’s motorists to start riding motorcycles or bicycles instead of driving, a survey by the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) has revealed.
The survey was carried out toward the end of last month, about two months after the Executive Yuan started raising retail gas and diesel prices.
The Executive Yuan has increased retail gas prices two times since it took the helm.
In May, it raised the price of retail gas by NT$3.9 per liter and that of diesel by NT$4.4.
Last month, it increased retail gas prices again by NT$1.5 per liter and by NT$1.6 per liter for diesel.
SHORT JOURNEYS
The survey found that while about 66 percent of respondents said they still choose to drive for short journeys, close to 34 percent said they had stopped driving cars altogether.
Among those who chose to ditch their cars, about 84 percent said they have started riding motorcycles.
Of those who continue driving cars, however, about 17 percent said they would quit if gas prices were raised by another 10 percent
Should the price of gas be raised by another 30 percent, approximately 30 percent of drivers said they would stop using their cars.
The ministry compared the user percentages of different transportation means for short-distance travel both before and after the gas price hike, as well as those gained after simulating scenarios of both 10-percent and 30-percent gas price increases.
A drastic decline was observed among car users, decreasing from 35 percent to 16.4 percent.
BICYCLES
Users of bicycles, on the other hand, jumped from 6 percent to 16.5 percent. Figures for use of public transportation systems also increased from 10 percent to 15 percent.
A similar trend was indicated for long-distance travel. Car use halved to 34 percent wheras the use of public transport surged to 53 percent from 25 percent.
The survey also showed that, overall, motorists have reduced their use of cars ever since the oil price rose. The use of motorcycles did not seem to diminish.
Close to 30 percent reported that their strategy to counter rising oil prices was to reduce their amount of travel.
Also See: CPC lowers diesel, gas prices for first time in 11 months
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Friday condemned Chinese and Russian authorities for escalating regional tensions, citing Chinese warplanes crossing the Taiwan Strait’s median line and joint China-Russia military activities breaching South Korea’s air defense identification zone (KADIZ) over the past two days. A total of 30 Chinese warplanes crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait on Thursday and Friday, entering Taiwan’s northern and southwestern airspace in coordination with 15 naval vessels and three high-altitude balloons, the MAC said in a statement. The Chinese military also carried out another “joint combat readiness patrol” targeting Taiwan on Thursday evening, the MAC said. On
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday confirmed that Chinese students visiting Taiwan at the invitation of the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation were almost all affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). During yesterday’s meeting convened by the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) asked whether the visit was a way to spread China’s so-called “united front” rhetoric, to which MAC Deputy Ministry Shen You-chung (沈有忠) responded with the CCP comment. The MAC noticed that the Chinese individuals visiting Taiwan, including those in sports, education, or religion, have had increasingly impressive backgrounds, demonstrating that the
MILITARY EXERCISES: China is expected to conduct more drills in the region after President William Lai’s office announced he would stopover in Hawaii and Guam China is likely to launch military drills in the coming days near Taiwan, using President William Lai’s (賴清德) upcoming trip to the Pacific and scheduled US transit as a pretext, regional security officials said. Lai is to begin a visit to Taipei’s three diplomatic allies in the Pacific on Saturday, and sources told Reuters he was planning stops in Hawaii and the US territory of Guam in a sensitive trip shortly after the US presidential election. Lai’s office has yet to confirm details of what are officially “stop-overs” in the US, but is expected to do so shortly before he departs, sources
Tasa Meng Corp (采盟), which runs Taiwan Duty Free, could be fined up to NT$1 million (US$30,737) after the owner and employees took center stage in a photograph with government officials and the returning Premier12 baseball champions at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Monday evening. When Taiwan’s national baseball team arrived home fresh from their World Baseball Softball Confederation Premier12 championship victory in Tokyo, Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) was at the airport with Chinese Professional Baseball League commissioner Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) to welcome back the team. However, after Hsiao and Tsai took a photograph with the team, Tasa Meng chairwoman Ku
RSS