Of the mere 5.3 percent of Greater Taichung residents polled who reported having ridden the municipality’s newly launched Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system, only 16.9 percent said they were satisfied with the transport service, the results of a survey conducted by the Greater Taichung Development Association and released yesterday showed.
Participants in the opinion poll conducted from Tuesday to Thursday last week gave Greater Taichung Mayor Jason Hu (胡志強) a grade of 48.1 points for his launch of the BRT system, the association said.
Of the Greater Taichung residents surveyed, only 5.3 percent said they have used the new bus service and of these, 16.9 percent reported being satisfied with the service and 25.5 percent said they would now change the way they travel, the results showed.
A majority of those polled — 66.2 percent — said they do not think the BRT will solve the city’s traffic problem, but 50.6 percent said they think Greater Taichung still needs the blue line BRT system, while 68.6 percent support constructing an MRT network in the municipality.
When asked about the policy of eliminating bus fares for commutes of up to 8km, 55.2 percent of residents polled said they have used the free ride service, with 33.4 percent saying the program had altered how they commute in the city.
The data showed that 59.5 percent of respondents would be more willing to use the bus system if the frequency of buses is increased.
On July 26, President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) took a 3.5km ride on the BRT route along Taiwan Boulevard on the eve of the opening of the system’s year-long free service, after which he lauded Hu for establishing the bus network, deeming it as good as a subway system.
Commenting on the survey, the Democratic Progressive Party’s Greater Taichung mayoral candidate Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said he is not opposed to the BRT, but that Hu had inaugurated an incomplete system by rushing the launch to boost his approval ratings ahead of the Nov. 29 elections.
Lin said that if elected, he will set up a special panel to improve the BRT system, while also pushing for the creation of an MRT network, reviewing the 8km free bus ride policy to extend it to those living in more remote areas of the city, as well as bidding to increase the number of routes and frequency of buses.
“Greater Taichung’s BRT is not a real BRT in that it fails to provide passengers full transfer information and lacks careful planning, which has consequently seen the service stigmatized among the public,” said Wang Yi-chuan (王義川), chair of the Department of Transportation and Logistics at Toko University.
Public Transportation Association president Lee Wen-chieh (李文傑) said the Greater Taichung Government inaugurated the BRT with an incomplete transfer information mechanism after the project’s construction was repeatedly postponed, adding that this hastiness had made the BRT a complete joke.
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
President William Lai (賴清德) has appointed former vice president Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) to attend the late Pope Francis’ funeral at the Vatican City on Saturday on his behalf, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today. The Holy See announced Francis’ funeral would take place on Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square. The ministry expressed condolences over Francis’ passing and said that Chen would represent Taiwan at the funeral and offer condolences in person. Taiwan and the Vatican have a long-standing and close diplomatic relationship, the ministry said. Both sides agreed to have Chen represent Taiwan at the funeral, given his Catholic identity and