A “Mobile Forest” bus, a conceptual creation hoping to bring nature closer to urban commuters, was launched in Taipei on Wednesday morning.
The interior of the bus is decorated with Taiwanese flowers and the walkway is paved with artificial turf. The exterior of the bus features drawings by designer Xiao Qing-yang (蕭青陽).
The bus is the result of cooperation between Kuang-Hua Bus Co and a team of chief executives and company managers who are part of the Beautiful Touch Association.
Photo courtesy of the Beautiful Touch Association
The project is based on the theme that people acting alone can change their surroundings, and that action will make Taiwan a better and more beautiful place, the project members said.
The Mobile Forest operates along bus route No. 203 between Taipei’s Tianmu (天母) area and New Taipei City’s Sijhih District (汐止).
There is only one bus per day during the trial period, which lasts until Sunday.
The bus is free to ride during the trial run, the association said.
The Mobile Forest cost NT$100,000 to prepare, including the flowers, and expected maintenance and management fees, the association said, adding that as it has limited funding, it is to assess whether the venture would be viable after the trial period.
Association members said that as only one Mobile Forest bus runs per day, they encourage people who are allergic to flowers or grass to take normal 203 buses.
The Taipei City Government has is not involved in the project and is not financing it, Kuang-Hua Bus manager Ma Tzu-chun (馬祖軍) said, adding that paperwork was sent to the city government because the bus is using the same route and stops as an existing service.
Taipei Department of Public Transportation Director Yang Chin-wen (楊欽文) said that the Mobile Forest was not a breach of any regulations.
Meanwhile, the Beautiful Touch Association was involved in a beautification project with Shihdong Market, with the association helping 18 stall owners to improve the aesthetics of their stalls and billboards.
“We hope that the Mobile Forest bus will also bring more visitors to Shihdong Market — as the service passes nearby — and allow more people to experience a traditional market,” the association said.
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
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
Minister of Justice Cheng Ming-chien (鄭銘謙) yesterday authorized the execution of convicted murderer Huang Lin-kai (黃麟凱), the first death row prisoner to be put to death since President William Lai (賴清德) took office. Huang was to be executed via a firing squad yesterday evening, which would leave Taiwan with 36 convicts on death row. Huang on Oct. 1, 2013, broke into his ex-girlfriend Wang Ping-chih’s (王品智) residence in New Taipei City, where he raped and murdered Wang. He also killed Wang’s mother. Huang was bitter over the breakup and her accusation that he had stolen NT$200,000 (US$6,074) from her bank account, prosecutors said
RSS