Taiwan last year electrified 25 percent of public buses serving urban areas, a milestone on the path to Taiwan achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday.
The push to make public buses electric was part of a NT$64.3 billion (US$1.96 billion) plan launched in 2023 to electrify buses, the ministry wrote in a report to the legislature’s Transportation Committee.
The project’s aim is to subsidize commercial bus operators to add 14,500 electric vehicles (EV) to their fleets to replace diesel-powered buses or as new purchases by 2030, it said.
Photo: CNA
As of November, the ministry has provided funding for 2,080 urban electric buses, of which 1,926 have been operationally certified, achieving last year’s target, the ministry said.
Officials installed 10,086 public charging points consisting of 7,681 slow-charging points and 2,405 fast-charging points to serve 92,166 private EVs, it said.
That means Taiwan reached the EU’s recommendation of 9.1 charging points for every privately owned EV, it said.
The nation has 23 fast-charging stations at 15 freeway service areas and one rest area, which have combined capacity to recharge 154 vehicles simultaneously, the ministry said.
A carbon footprint labeling program for enterprises in the logistics and transportation sectors that started last year provided eight classes and 21 conferences, it said.
A separate trial run with different training courses and guidance services for operators is to start this year and be expanded in the following years, it said.
Taiwan is planning to import sustainable aviation fuel for commercial airplanes and begin domestic production next year, the ministry said.
Sustainable fuel is derived from recycled biological materials.
The fuel later this year would be introduced to domestic airlines accessing Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport), Kaohsiung International Airport and Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, the ministry said.
By 2030, sustainable fuels should comprise 5 percent of total domestic aviation fuel consumption, if all goes according to plan, it said.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs said in the report that it has established national standards to certify sustainable aviation fuel.
CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) is tasked with producing aviation-grade biofuel for long-term use, it said.
Taiwan should aim to substitute 10 percent of its aviation fuel consumption with biofuel, the National Science and Technology Council said.
Taoyuan airport consumes 3 million kiloliters of aviation fuel a year, it added.
Last year, the government cut emissions at airports by supplying power and air-conditioning to parked airplanes via air bridges, adding solar panels and supplying ground crew with EVs, it said.
Taoyuan airport replaced 35.7 percent of its ground support vehicles and installed 43 charging points for their use, the ministry said.
Taoyuan airport plans to increase the number of charging points to 70 by 2027, it said.
ANNOUNCEMENT: People who do not comply with the ban after a spoken warning would be reported to the police, the airport company said on Friday Taoyuan International Airport Corp on Friday announced that riding on vehicles, including scooter-suitcases (also known as “scootcases”), bicycles, scooters and skateboards, is prohibited in the airport’s terminals. Those using such vehicles should manually pull them or place them on luggage trolleys, the company said in a Facebook post. The ban intends to maintain order and protect travelers’ safety, as the airport often sees large crowds of people, it said, adding that it has stepped up publicity for the regulation, and those who do not comply after a spoken warning would be reported to the police. The company yesterday said that
QUIET START: Nearly a week after applications opened, agencies did not announce or promote the program, nor did they explain how it differed from other visitor visas Taiwan has launched a six-month “digital nomad visitor visa” program for foreign nationals from its list of visa-exempt countries who meet financial eligibility criteria and provide proof of work contracts. To apply, foreign nationals must either provide proof that they have obtained a digital nomad visa issued by another country or demonstrate earnings based on age brackets, the Bureau of Consular Affairs said. Applicants aged 20 to 29 must show they earned an annual salary of at least US$20,000 or its equivalent in one of the past two years, while those aged 30 or older must provide proof they earned US$40,000 in
UNITY MESSAGE: Rather than focusing on what Trump said on the campaign trail about Taiwan, Taipei should be willing to engage with the US, Pompeo said Taiwan plays a key role in Washington’s model of deterrence against China, former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo said in a speech in Taipei yesterday. During US president-elect Donald Trump’s first term, “we had developed what we believe was a pretty effective model of deterrence against adversaries who wanted to undermine the set of rules and values that the people of Taiwan and the people of the US hold dear,” Pompeo said at a forum organized by the Formosa Republican Association. “Succeeding in continuing to build this model will not solely rest at the feet of president Trump and his team,
TECH CORRIDOR: Technology centers and science parks in the south would be linked, bolstering the AI, semiconductor, biotech, drone, space and smart agriculture industries The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a “Southern Silicon Valley” project to promote the development of an artificial intelligence (AI) and semiconductor industry in Chiayi County, Tainan, Pingtung County and Kaohsiung. The plan would build an integrated “S-shaped semiconductor industry corridor” that links technology centers and science parks in the south, Executive Yuan spokesperson Michelle Lee (李慧芝) said yesterday after a Cabinet meeting. The project would bolster the AI, semiconductor, biotech, drone, space and smart agriculture industries, she said. The proposed tech corridor would be supported by government efforts to furnish computing power, workforce, supply chains and policy measures that encourage application and integration
RSS