I for one would like to see this policy not only continue but expand, in terms of time, days and number of stations. Brought my bike on the MRT this morning and went to Beitou. From Beitou station I rode across Guandu plain to get to the riverside bike path and rode all the way to Fisherman’s Wharf at the mouth of the Danshui. Instead of taking the MRT back to town, I rode back to Guandu dock and took the 45-minute river cruise to Dadaocheng Wharf downtown. Great ride. Wouldn’t have been able to do it without bike access to the MRT.
I think they’re extending the trial for 6 months.
Can someone with better Chinese, read this for me and see if there are any other changes in the trial.
home.trtc.com.tw/HOME92/news.asp?Serial=860
Brian
Awesome news, Bri! :bouncy: That’s right. They’re extending the trial period for 6 more months till October 17. This is because few people took advantage of the policy due to the unseasonable rainy weather this winter. It also says they want to give more bikers the chance to take their bikes on the MRT so they can see if bikers and regular passengers can coexist all right (so we’re still under the microscope). The rules seem to be the same as before, but hey, I’m happy.
Hmm…not many people using the MRT for bikes I guess. Or just no one posting about it.
An update from personal experience only. I’ve taken the MRT several times with my bike in 2005. Works like a charm. The main tip worth passing on has to do with positioning the bike inside the MRT car.
The directions (as far as I can tell) only say to stand by the vertical bar in the first or last train car. When I first did it, it wasn’t clear to me what would be better: positioning my bike in line with the direction of travel or perpendicular to it. I decided on the former the first time. Seemed to work well early in the morning. Not many people. Later in the day, coming through Taipei Main Station, the hordes crammed on the train in that standard “Oh my God…there will never be another train…hurry!” sort of way. In doing so, they almost bent my bike around the pole and got squashed in the process.
After that experience, I now position my bike perpendicular to the direction of travel (wheels facing the doors). Works better.
The only other tip is that it seems to help to ride with an arm around the pole and at least one hand on a brake to keep the bike from rolling around while stopping and starting.
Take advantage of it. It’s really a great service, even with the restricted hours and days.
I use it.
The way you’re supposed to stand with your bike on the pole is a bit stupid. I think it’s much better to put your bike in the wheelchair place. I always do that (even though it’s not really allowed). What they really shoudl do is take out that last little seat and there’d be room for two racks maybe 4-6 bikes. Wheelchairs would still take priority of course. Standing at the pole, you do seem to get int he way more.
Brian
if you want the city administration to hear you out, write to the ‘Mayor’s Mailbox/Inbox’ - nothing gets the wheels churning faster than a bunch of english speaking foreign residents voicing their opinion via email…really :bravo: …this is true…look at flicka’s crystal spoon experience at taipei 101…
here’s a link, though it is probably subject to the change at anytime:
You may not be able to forge down a mountainside with the 20-inch wheels… but, your commuting in the city not blazing trails!
I have a Dahon Speed TR (21speed), and the bike is engineered extremely well… excellent componentry, extremely quick/agile and folds in 15 seconds (really). The bikes Dahon sells are very reasonably priced… and they make them in all kind styles to suit just about anyone. I believe their top of the line MTB got product of the year in Fortune magazine…
Check them out here: www.dahon.com
They will let folding bikes on. Look at their general rules. The rules you are reading refer to regular bikes.
yep i called them last night and took my folder on the train this monring with zero hassles.
a folder per se isnt allowed on but if it is suitably covered so it doesnt affect other passengers in terms of dirt, parts etc it is fine.
[quote=“AWOL”]yep i called them last night and took my folder on the train this monring with zero hassles.
a folder per se isnt allowed on but if it is suitably covered so it doesnt affect other passengers in terms of dirt, parts etc it is fine.[/quote]
What’s the cost of a folded bike and are they sturdy? I don’t mean for real trail riding but in general. Do they last? I always recal an incident when I was 10 and my bike split in half on me. Of course I was riding it off a 5 foot ramp, but hey. 
Costs can vary greatly depending on brand, spec etc.
My bike - a Dahon Jetstream is great… light enough for carrying through the train stations, strong enough for years of riding and well spec’d.
I was shopping for a folding bike yesterday. Dam they are expensive. I looked at the Dahon Jetstream P8 $27,000NT and also the Giant MR 2 both bikes have similiar equipment.
tw.f3.page.bid.yahoo.com/tw/auction/c17435734
giant-bicycle.com/internatio … odel=11021
But for that price I could get almost 2 pretty nice regular mountain bikes. I’m still debating whether the extra convience of a bike that can fold is worth the extra cash. Dahon also has a full sized folding bike which is cheaper than its smaller folding bikes, this confuses me a bit. tw.f4.page.bid.yahoo.com/tw/auction/d12988168
2 mtn bikes for 27k!? wow…
seriously though its all about specs.