Have they created the monthly metro pass system yet?

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This should work the other way around too, I mean, Ubike->MRT/Bus not only MRT/Bus ->Ubike :idunno:

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Banqiao is in Xinbei and part of the system, so yes.

Taoyuan is not, so no.

Guy

I agree. Do users of the new MRT pass have to swipe on exit? (assuming the 30-minute window starts on exit.)

I don’t see why they dont just give you 2x30m free per day on the Youbike.

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Hmmmm… is it transferable? Could I take it to work 3 days a week, spouse one day a week, use it for trips Saturday and Sunday? It might be worth it and reduce some of the people who are zipping back and forth.

Or don’t turn it down but turn it into a sky train. :2cents:

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Probably yes. I guess the same for long distance buses where you have to swipe twice. It should be all the same, just you have an infinite amount of credit during that month…

Why do you want to tear down Civil Boulevard overpass?

It’s an eyesore, it’s noisy, it pollutes, and it’s great for car drivers and absolutely no one else. It’s very sad to me that Taipei repeated the American mistake of elevated highways through urban cores, instead of avoiding such nonsense like all European cities did.

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I wish we had that in the ol country. we still have roundabouts. In general, our roads if we could call them that are a death trap, but anm elevated highway could help as we have inefficient and unsafe public transportation and private cars are the only choice in most cases. We currently have two hour normal commutes on average on distances that are risible.

No, there is no way to have public transportation or metro, as a matter of fact, they eliminated traisn, and any talk of trains brings teh wrath of the monopolies on cargo. Sigh.

Any pedestrian/cyclist would like to be able to ride on any street and not have to worry about cars. Nonetheless, everyone has to coexist, the drastic change that the Dutch had just wont’ happen as quick anywhere in Asia.

You also have to look at it from a motorist’s point of view. The idea is to get to places as quick as possible and Civic does a great job in doing that or would you rather have cars stop at every light and pollute the air. Of course, you’d want gas guzzlers to get out of the city as fast as possible. One day, you may drive in Taipei and will be so happy that Civic Blvd elevated express way exists. Banqiao to Song Shan in 15 minutes is like sunshine on a cloudy day.

Also, street level Civic has the least amount of traffic lights compared to roads that are parallel to them. A lot of motorists use Civic because of this. Results are…less cars/scoots on parallel roads. Your idea of tearing down Civic will only bring more congestion and cars to parallel streets…where you currently enjoy minimal traffic as you ride your bike and walk.

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If there were no other options, then tearing down Civic might lead to more congestion, yes. But in Taipei, there is very good transit infrastructure. Unfortunately, there is also pretty good road infrastructure (e.g. Civic and all the other elevated highways) so a lot of people use that instead.

It’s the same anywhere: if you provide good roads, people will use them. Traffic engineers learned long ago that you cannot just build more roads to solve congestion. It’s called induced demand: when you add roads or lanes, demand for road usage does not remain constant, it increases. So, you end up with an equal level of congestion despite having more roads.

The tragedy of Taipei is that it is one of the most dense cities in the world, yet private vehicles are still the most popular transport option. A big reason for that is because, for so many years, the government aggressively built out road infrastructure, following the American example instead of the European or Japanese one.

In truth, it’s only half a tragedy, because some very smart people had the foresight to push through the MRT system as well, so Taipei today is extremely liveable. But it would be even better if some of the big roads were torn down.

The good news is that the winds have shifted. It looks like that expressway from Tamsui to Guandu won’t be built, and neither will the bridge from Tamsui to Bali. The Civic Boulevard right of way was partly a victim of timing. If the tracks had been put underground just a decade or two later, the highway probably wouldn’t have been built and that part of town would look very different.

If you need another example of why big elevated freeways are so bad for the urban fabric, you just have to walk a few blocks under Civic Boulevard and see the strings of vacant storefronts and dilapidated buildings. Then compare that to the vibrancy, businesses, and new construction you find around any MRT station or park.

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I don’t know what country you’re from but the description reminds me of Manila. I spend a lot of time there for work, and the level of that city’s transport infrastructure is somewhere between “failed state” and “seventh level of hell”.

No, but close to free. I want to say it’s like 5 NT? But I know it’s no longer free.

Taipei City is no longer free. New Taipei City still free if you are a registered member.04

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I stand corrected. Must have been in Taipei City last time I used it.

Wow, would it be a bold move if Mayor Ko announced he’d tear down Civic Boulevard (what an ironic misnaming of an unlovely and people-unfriendly design). They could then open up the sidewalks running along side by ripping down the pedestrian underpass entrances that obtrude everywhere (happily the city has actively been doing this up Zhongshan North Road, Dunhua North Road, and perhaps in other places too).

There’s no need to replace Civic Boulevard with a Skytrain system–the Blue line runs right alongside it. But with nice wide open sidewalks, new bike lines, and the hulking overhead highway taken down, Civic Boulevard could look, well, really civic.

Guy

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As I said before, the blue line – all the central lines actually – will need some relief in the future when even more people are taking the metro because the suburban lines reach out even further. Adding an extra blue line underneath the current one would relieve the line itself, but the stations would still get more crowded.

Adding extra lines parallel to the existing ones would cause some oddities in terms of transfer stations (rather than adding new stations everywhere the new lines meet the old ones, just add them where they make the most sense), but it would be achieve the main goal of relief. Also, when an incident causes a blockage on a line, you want to be able to go in the same direction without going too far out of the way, and a nearby parallel line is a good way to do that.

For comparison San Francisco has a monthly pass for transit that was 83 in 2017I think it still exists. They sell out super fast in first week of the month. When I was using it 10 years ago it was about $35 and provides free transportation including bart within San Francisco . All the buses the streetcars and even the cable car

No name on card so fully transferable good for the month only not connected to you in any way

It was great.

People arent forced to drive cars. They do so because they are convenient. Cities don’t have to make car driving more convenient at the expense of other modes of transport. If car driving becomes the more troublesome option, citizens will just choose other methods

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