Taipei City buses will be running on the off-peak timetable and the MRT operating on its weekend and holiday schedule throughout the Lunar New Year holiday from today to Friday, the city’s Department of Transportation said yesterday.
Buses serving mountainous areas will be running on the weekend and holiday schedule. Shuttle services that run only on weekdays will operate according to the usual schedule.
PANDA FEVER
Buses 120, 121, 122 and G1 to the Taipei Zoo will run more frequently as the opening of the Panda Hall is expected to draw big crowds.
The MRT Muzha Line will also run more frequently to accommodate visitors to the zoo during the holidays, but all other MRT lines will run on the weekend and holiday schedule. The normal operating schedule will resume on Feb. 2.
TAXI FARES
Meanwhile, Taipei taxis will not add a Lunar New Year surcharge this year in the hope of attracting more business during the holiday period. Cab fares will start at NT$70 for the first 1.25km as usual.
The department said passengers could call the city’s 1999 hotline or the traffic division at 02-2394-9007 or 02-2321-9166 to report any taxi drivers who try to overcharge customers during the holiday.
More information on transportation arrangements is available on the Web site of the city’s public transportation office, www.pto.taipei.gov.tw, or at the public transportation inquiries Web site, www.5284.com.tw.
The Public Bus Hotline can be reached at 2729-1181.
Callers outside Taipei City can dial 02-2720-8889 for more information.
INFRASTRUCTURE: Work on the second segment, from Kaohsiung to Pingtung, is expected to begin in 2028 and be completed by 2039, the railway bureau said Planned high-speed rail (HSR) extensions would blanket Taiwan proper in four 90-minute commute blocs to facilitate regional economic and livelihood integration, Railway Bureau Deputy Director-General Yang Cheng-chun (楊正君) said in an interview published yesterday. A project to extend the high-speed rail from Zuoying Station in Kaohsiung to Pingtung County’s Lioukuaicuo Township (六塊厝) is the first part of the bureau’s greater plan to expand rail coverage, he told the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times). The bureau’s long-term plan is to build a loop to circle Taiwan proper that would consist of four sections running from Taipei to Hualien, Hualien to
The Civil Aviation Administration yesterday said that it is considering punishments for China Airlines (CAL) and Starlux Airlines for making hard landings and overworking their cabin crew when the nation was hit by Typhoon Kong-rey in October last year. The civil aviation authority launched an investigation after media reported that many airlines were forced to divert their flights to different airports or go around after failing to land when the typhoon affected the nation on Oct. 30 and 31 last year. The agency reviewed 503 flights dispatched by Taiwanese airlines during those two days, as well as weather data, flight hours
Three people have had their citizenship revoked after authorities confirmed that they hold Chinese ID cards, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said yesterday. Two of the three people were featured in a recent video about Beijing’s “united front” tactics by YouTuber Pa Chiung (八炯) and Taiwanese rapper Chen Po-yuan (陳柏源), including Su Shi-en (蘇士恩), who displayed a Chinese ID card in the video, and taekwondo athlete Lee Tung-hsien (李東憲), who mentioned he had obtained a Chinese ID card in a telephone call with Chen, Liang told the council’s weekly news conference. Lee, who reportedly worked in
A relatively large earthquake may strike within the next two weeks, following a magnitude 5.2 temblor that shook Taitung County this morning, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. An earthquake struck at 8:18am today 10.2km west of Taitung County Hall in Taitung City at a relatively shallow depth of 6.5km, CWA data showed. The largest intensity of 4 was felt in Taitung and Pingtung counties, which received an alert notice, while areas north of Taichung did not feel any shaking, the CWA said. The earthquake was the result of the collision between the Philippine Plate and the Eurasian Plate, the agency said, adding