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Taiwan 2001 |
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Transportation |
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Urban TrafficTraffic in Taiwan's major cities is very congested. Urban planners in all of Taiwan's metropolitan areas must cope with a similar set of challenges: a soaring number of new motorcycles and cars, a limited number of streets, and the complexities of acquiring very scarce space for improvements. Fortunately, countermeasures such as mass rapid transit systems and swift and convenient bus services have alleviated some of the burdens.
Taipei's Traffic Challenge
To encourage people to use the public bus system, the Taipei City Government established a system of exclusive bus-only lanes on eight major streets in the mid-1990s. Originally reserved for use by urban buses, the government later agreed to allow commuter buses owned by schools, companies, and other organizations with a seating capacity of at least 20 persons to use the lanes as well. These bus-only lanes total 50.12 kilometers and can be found on Sungkiang Road 松江路, Hsinsheng South Road 新生南路, Hsinyi Road 信義路, Jenai Road 仁愛路, Nanching East Road 南京東路, Minchuan East and West Road 民權東西路, Tunhua North and South Road 敦化南北路, and Chungshan North and South Road 中山南北路. Research has shown that the exclusive bus-only lanes have substantially improved the flow of local traffic. Based on a 1999 survey, the average travel speed during rush hour of both cars and buses was 23 percent higher than it was three years ago. By the end of 1999, 187 commuter buses were using the exclusive bus-only lanes; and with the number of bus passengers still increasing annually, the success of the system has prompted the Taipei City Government to begin construction on two additional bus-only lanes in 2000: one on Chungking North Road 重慶北路 and the other on Chunghua Road 中華路. Once completed, the total distance covered by the bus-only lanes will increase to 57.12 kilometers.
These mass transit systems were initially designed to alleviate urban traffic in downtown Taipei and to encourage people to move from the metropolitan area to the outlying areas. Property values along the five routes have increased dramatically. Housing prices have more than tripled in the suburban areas of Mucha, Peitou, and Nankang since 1987, when the Taipei City Government formally established the Department of Rapid Transit Systems 臺北市政府捷運工程局 (DORTS). With the exception of the Orbital Line, DORTS is responsible for the construction project while operational responsibilities are held by the Taipei Rapid Transit Corporation 臺北捷運公司. The TRTS network is able to transport large numbers of passengers. With the exception of the Mucha Line, which only runs four-car trains, all other lines have six-car trains. Six-car trains have a maximum capacity of 2,200 passengers per train and an hourly capacity between 20,000 and 60,000 people in one direction. Four-car trains have an hourly capacity between 10,000 and 25,000 people in one direction, and its frequency ranges between two and ten minutes. The Mucha Line is completely computerized, while the rest of the lines have human operators. Train speeds range from 25 to 80 kilometers per hour, and the distance between stations varies from between 800 and 1,000 meters downtown to between 1,000 and 2,000 meters in the suburbs.
Kaohsiung Mass Rapid Transit System Development Plan (First Phase)Kaohsiung is Taiwan's largest harbor and second largest city. Rapid industrial development and population growth have accentuated the need for efficient metropolitan transportation, and to meet this need, the Kaohsiung City Government 高雄市政府 has designed the Kaohsiung Metropolitan Area Mass Rapid Transit System Development Plan (First Term) 高雄都會區大眾捷運系統第一期發展計畫. This plan was approved by the Executive Yuan in January 1994 and will integrate high-speed and regular railways with the city bus system, providing a comprehensive mass transportation network. The original plan, which was estimated to cost around US$6 billion, called for the construction of a Red Line and an Orange Line with a total of 37 stations and a combined length of 42.7 kilometers. Since then, however, two additional lines and extensions to both the Red and Orange lines have been considered and are currently in the planning stages. Although bidding for construction of the Orange Line was scheduled for 1996, the funding for the system was not passed by the Kaohsiung City Council 高雄市議會 until December 1997. Construction of the Kaohsiung MRT (KMRT) project, which will be carried out under the Executive Yuan's BOT (Build-Operate-Transfer) model, is expected to begin in October 2000, with partial operation of the Orange Line expected to start in December 2004. Operation of the northern section of the Red Line is slated for December 2005, and the entire system should be complete by December 2006. Rapid Transit in Other CitiesFollowing Taipei's lead, many other cities in Taiwan aside from Kaohsiung have also initiated plans for metropolitan rail transit systems. These cities include Taichung, Tainan, and Taoyuan. Private participation in the rapid transit systems projects for all of these cities is currently under study; however, the only project past the planning stage so far is Kaohsiung's MRT.
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