The Taipei City Government yesterday halted its plan to introduce penalties for cyclists who fail to follow regulations after its proposed law attracted a flurry of complaints.
The proposal, drawn up by the Department of Transportation, would set fines for cyclists who fail to install brakes, lights and warning bells. The proposal would also bar cyclists from carrying passengers, including children in baby seats, and require cyclists to ride on exclusive bike paths at speeds less than 15kph.
Faced with a growing number of complaints, Taipei City Government spokesman Yang Hsiao-tung (羊曉東) said the proposal was only in the discussion stage and stressed that the city government aimed to promote cycling.
“The Taipei City Government’s attitude toward cyclists remains the same. We are trying to educate people … rather than trying to punishing them,” he said after a meeting at Taipei City Hall.
Chen Ching-cheng (陳慶誠), a division chief of the department, said a discussion with transportation experts was held last week to discuss the content of The Road Traffic Management and Punishment Act (道路交通管理處罰條例).
Most of the offenses under the proposal are covered by the act and the department only proposed revising the act to give a clear definition of bicycle regulations, Chen said.
Department statistics show that the number of cyclists in the city increased 3 percent last year. However, the number of traffic accidents involving bicycles has also risen.
The department proposed the revisions in an effort to reduce traffic accidents involving cyclists, Chen said.
Under the proposed revision, cyclists would be fined NT$180 for failing to install brakes, lights and bells. Those who carry another person, fail to ride in bike lanes, break traffic regulations or park their bikes illegally would be slapped with fines between NT$300 and NT$600.
Yang said the city government encouraged residents to use bicycles as an environmentally friendly means of transportation.
Yang said department commissioner Luo Shiaw-shyan (羅孝賢), currently on a trip to the US, had already demanded his staff present another draft of the proposal and promised that no penalties would be given to cyclists for the time being.
Death row inmate Huang Lin-kai (黃麟凱), who was convicted for the double murder of his former girlfriend and her mother, is to be executed at the Taipei Detention Center tonight, the Ministry of Justice announced. Huang, who was a military conscript at the time, was convicted for the rape and murder of his ex-girlfriend, surnamed Wang (王), and the murder of her mother, after breaking into their home on Oct. 1, 2013. Prosecutors cited anger over the breakup and a dispute about money as the motives behind the double homicide. This is the first time that Minister of Justice Cheng Ming-chien (鄭銘謙) has
Ferry operators are planning to provide a total of 1,429 journeys between Taiwan proper and its offshore islands to meet increased travel demand during the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday, the Maritime and Port Bureau said yesterday. The available number of ferry journeys on eight routes from Saturday next week to Feb. 2 is expected to meet a maximum transport capacity of 289,414 passengers, the bureau said in a news release. Meanwhile, a total of 396 journeys on the "small three links," which are direct ferries connecting Taiwan's Kinmen and Lienchiang counties with China's Fujian Province, are also being planned to accommodate
BITTERLY COLD: The inauguration ceremony for US president-elect Donald Trump has been moved indoors due to cold weather, with the new venue lacking capacity A delegation of cross-party lawmakers from Taiwan, led by Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), for the inauguration of US president-elect Donald Trump, would not be able to attend the ceremony, as it is being moved indoors due to forecasts of intense cold weather in Washington tomorrow. The inauguration ceremony for Trump and US vice president-elect JD Vance is to be held inside the Capitol Rotunda, which has a capacity of about 2,000 people. A person familiar with the issue yesterday said although the outdoor inauguration ceremony has been relocated, Taiwan’s legislative delegation has decided to head off to Washington as scheduled. The delegation
TRANSPORT CONVENIENCE: The new ticket gates would accept a variety of mobile payment methods, and buses would be installed with QR code readers for ease of use New ticketing gates for the Taipei metro system are expected to begin service in October, allowing users to swipe with cellphones and select credit cards partnered with Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC), the company said on Tuesday. TRTC said its gates in use are experiencing difficulty due to their age, as they were first installed in 2007. Maintenance is increasingly expensive and challenging as the manufacturing of components is halted or becoming harder to find, the company said. Currently, the gates only accept EasyCard, iPass and electronic icash tickets, or one-time-use tickets purchased at kiosks, the company said. Since 2023, the company said it
RSS