So what are the costs to maintain a scooter per month, for oil changes, repairs, tires, insurance, registration, etc?
I’m asking because the Taipei all pass ticket is a really good deal if you commute a lot and would a scooter beat it?
The only costs for maintaining my Scooter per month is the gas bill which comes to about $110~$130/Week x 4 = Roughly $520~$600 max. Oil changes comes about once every 1000Kms…I ride approx. 8~9Kms to work each day (Hsinzhuang to San Chung) so my total journey (back and forth) takes around 18Kms per day…So Mon~Fri will be 18*5=90Kms/Week x 4=360Kms/Mth… So 1000/360=Roughly 3mths for an Oil change ($450)…Gear(Transmission) Oil needs to be changed every 2000Kms (Roughly every 5.5~6mths and it costs only 50 bucks per tube). Tires last much longer…depends on how frequently you ride and the condition of the roads etc…Typically, my tires lasts me more than a year or 2, cost per tire around $900~1100…There are cheaper ones too. Mandatory Insurance (強制險) for 2 years costs $1200. Fuel Tax (燃料稅) per year for my 150cc scooter costs $600…Anything below 150cc costs $450/Year…and there’s a few minor repairs here and there (like a spark plug change, Air Filter change, Light bulb change, Belt change) which can set you back a few $$$. Registration is a one time only charge ($200 I think) and it doesn’t need to be renewed. Same goes for your Licence. An Emissions check (for scooters 5 years or older) per year is free.
I bought my Scooter brand new back in 2008 and it hasn’t given me any worries/headaches till now except on the 2 occasions when I needed to change the entire clutch assembly as it was “slipping” during acceleration. Repairs/maintenance on a Second hand scooter might cost more.
So, to summarize, it is definitely more convenient & cost friendly riding a scooter than taking the MRT for me.
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In terms of cost, it should work out similarly after you take into account the cost of the scooter and what you can sell it for after a few years.
I prefer public transportation and occasionally taxis, because I can work (make calls and write emails) or read books on the MRT, but not while riding a scooter.
keeping your tires pumped up to correct pressure will make sure they last as long as they can. underinflated tires wear out faster.
I read somewhere else that Taipei is doing away with free scooter parking, so is parking fees going to be high too?
I never liked scooters because of how people drive them and when it rains it can be miserable.
wow… when its cheaper to use scooters and you can park anywhere then you can see why so many still ride them. the government is a bit of joke.
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Keep in mind the guy quoting this is only going from xinjhuan to sanchong and back, the two isn’t that far apart. It’s only maybe 4 or 5 MRT stations from each other. A lot of people commute much further like from danshui to ximen or xinyi which is like over 22k each way. Your costs are going to be much higher. Plus riding 22k by scooter everyday sucks, especially when it rains!
I think all pass ticket makes sense if you commute more than 10k each way. It already pays for itself if you commute more than 5 MRT stations each way everyday. I guess I can see why the MRT is much more crowded now.
What about scooter parking? I read somewhere they are doing away with free parking.
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Scooter parking fee will hardly do a dent to anyone’s wallet…it is much, much cheaper than parking a car…Most places charge a one time parking fee for a scooter at $20/Day (Clock resets at 12 midnight)…It’s one reason why I always ride my scooter to Ximending when I go watch a movie…Costs only $20 (That’s in the main Taipei district)…Driving and parking a car for around 3hrs will set me back about $150~$300 ($50-$60/Hr)
True…but then I guess one got to learn to go with the flow and learn defensive driving/riding. Always be ready to expect the unexpected (like some random Ammah turning right suddenly from the middle lane without signaling or some idiot darting out of an alley right into oncoming traffic without looking to the left first)…I always ride a bit faster than the crowd so I’m always ahead and in the clear instead of waiting for some dude to sideswipe me…and when it rains I ride slow and stay to the right but not completely to the right so as to avoid that idiot darting out of the alley/lane…Already had a couple of near death experiences during my early years here so I’m already quite experienced…Hopefully it will stay this way for a long time coming. Fingers and toes crossed. 
i see the parking as a big problem, in taipei anyway, out of taipei things are more laid back so it doesn’t matter. scooters have priority over everything, they take up all the pavement space. there is actually enough space here to do something like a bike lane on the bigger streets here but its so full of parked scooters 24/7 theres little point in it being so wide in the first place because there is no space to walk on. i’m pretty much ranting but these things do go against common sense.
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I agree…riding a scooter over 20kms per way is very tiring…my shoulders get really strained if I ride more than 40mins per trip…this is one of the reasons why most taiwanese prefer looking for a job closer to where they live…I used to live in Yung Ho/Chung Ho 10 years back and the trip from there to San Chong takes about 25~30 mins (11~13kms per way) and my colleagues used to say “OMG, you drive to work from sooooo far…why don’t you move house? We cannot ride more than 15 mins per trip” 
MRT is convenient for some but not for all…not all homes and offices are located right beside an MRT exit…Where I live, the nearest MRT (Danfeng) is about a 20min walk and the walk back will have me going uphill…My office is also like a 20 mins walk to the nearest MRT (XianSe)…try doing this in the Summer heat at 32 degrees…My underwear will be drenched in sweat just walking for 5 mins under the scorching sun…and most Supermarkets (Carrefour, Wellcome, PX Mart) aren’t located nearby…A hop to my scooter will take me 5 mins to go there but walking will take about 20 mins.
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The problem is what if you are working in xinyi district rent is very expensive, so living further away taking the MRT can save a lot of money.
MRT and all pass ticket is already great value. It’s just a joke that scooter parking isn’t charged for.
Also riding a scooter sucks over a certain distance and when it’s raining or very hot.
You make a good point about Taiwanese preferring jobs near where they live.
When most jobs pay about the same and treat you the same, location becomes key.
I used to do the Xindian Zhonghe commute by scooter because there was no public transport that made sense. I could have died from that commute due to the number of accidents on the terrible road at rush hour . In fact I was hit from behind once and have some minor scars to prove it. I could have been killed if the bus that was behind me was closer.
There were also multiple times I got soaked even though I had raingear. I also regret sucking in all that air pollution. Looking back I should just have quit my job which didn’t pay well anyway. I should have said, ‘screw this’ a lot earlier.
With the new circular yellow line coming on stream thats going to make things a lot easier for folks. Not looking forward to the even busier trains though.
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Or rent going up (nobody I know ever had rent raised on them however)
America sucked in that regard, the auto industry blocks just about every public transportation projects that work because they want everyone driving and the poor to take buses that don’t work.
Cost are small, and owning a scooter can be a dividend. Just make sure you have good accident insurance…you are about to make money in long run
I’m not even sure if getting killed in accidents are worth it…
Ermmmm?
I really thought about scooters while I was in the states. I figure it has a much lower cost compared to cars. The problem was Texas had weird laws concerning scooters. If it’s bigger than 50cc, capable of going more than 35 miles per hour, then it require a full motorcycle license along with insurance and all that. Basically under Texas law there are no “moped” or scooter. Either it’s a car, motorcycle, or too small to be a motorcycle. Another thing is theft was a big problem. Without a garage the scooter is almost guaranteed to get stolen no matter what you lock it with.
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Have you moved back to Taiwan again ?