Which is the cheapest way to commute between Hsinchu and Taipei everyday?
Please suggest! New to Taiwan still!
Cheapest? There are busses for about NT 80 that leave from the Taipei train station and Hsintien, and on the other end, right next to the Hsinchu train station on the other. On a good day they take about an hour and fifteen minutes.
For comparison’s sake, the train costs somewhere between 120 and 180, and takes either one or almost two hours (depending).
If you do it every day then it will get to you. I commuted between Taipei and Yangmei every day for more than one year - I found out how much I hated it when I stopped. Remember to leave before or after rush hour - otherwise the trip may take somewhat more than the figure mentioned above. Yangmei is closer to Taipei than Hsinchu is. If I left at 630 AM it would take 45 minutes to Taipei, if I left at 730 AM, it could take 2 hours. Evenings were better, as the rush hour is spreat out over a longer time span. If you take the bus, an added bonus is that you will have somewhere to sit.
Trains? Do you like to stand for 90 minutes in a packed rail car. I hope you do for your sake. When ppl come down here in order to visit me, I usually advise them to take the bus.
The Freego bus company has busses that stop throughout Taipei and Hsinchu for NT$120 one way and NT$220 roundtrip. Pretty convenient because of the stops throughout the city. They also have weekly and monthly passes I think.
Allow at least 2 hours for traffic, the time you will spend getting to and waiting at the stop, and the time from the stop you get off at to your final destnation.
I don’t think commuting round trip every day would be the ideal setup.
BUS has my vote, you can sleep the whole way, unless there’s an accident and the bus catches on fire and the ‘an chuan men’ is stuck and… 
I commuted everyday from Taipei to Hsinchu for about 6 months. It absolutely blows. My company provided transportation but even then you loose so much time due to traffic it just kills you.
To catch public transit during rush hour you will need almost 2 hours each way door to door.
On a weekly basis OK. However, it seems that there is a lot of commuting by car between Taipei and Hsinchu.
There is, Mr. He. The best bus company is ‘Ho Hsing’… very comfy. Takes less than an hour in normal traffic. 1.5 to 2 in heavy traffic.
The reason there’s a lot of traffic is that those who live in Hsinchu want to get the h*ll out of there on weekends. Hsinchu sucks, blows, and bites.