Kaohsiung MRT

Hi Guys,

is the pretty small MRT in Kaohsiung enough for daily travelling between places? Like are most important places, bars/ clubs / restaurants / nightmarkets / unis etc. along the MRT so you dont necessary need a Motobike, or is the reality that you NEED to have a motobike AND use it most of the time?

Thanks
Easyliving

My opinion is you need a motorbike.

The Mrt is not used much in Kaohsiung owing to the fact it just isnt convenient.

Kaohsiung MRT only has 2 lines. They have plans to expand it, but it seems like they have no money to build it right now.

How much do you like to walk? Are you okay with it taking 2x to 3x to get somewhere? If you donā€™t have a scooter (or bicycle) then you will need to take buses a lot and usually there is a 20 minute frequency between buses. And the constantly turning and stopping route is slow.

Kaohsiung is kind of stuck with what it has for awhile. The original MRT went way overbudget and it doesnā€™t get used enough so they wonā€™t build new lines. Of course it needs those new lines to increase ridership because it doesnā€™t go enough places. I have heard that there is a light rail line going along the waterfront. I think in the area of the bike path that runs from dream to Pier 2 Art District. it would of course connect to the MRT on both ends but I canā€™t remember where I saw the map.

I believe there are two light rails, and yes one will be running along the harbour area, it wont be built out for a few years yet. The problem with Kaoshiung MRT is the central government wont allocate enough funds to add more lines, and the local government is reluctant to enforce reductions in scooter use (being a bit of a chicken and egg situation at the moment).

Some popular destinations are a bit far off the MRT, it depends really.
Can you survive with just MRT as transporation? Yes
Will it take me anywhere I want quickly and donā€™t have to worry for it closing late at night? No
For me 70% MRT 30% taxiā€™s.

Interesting thread.
Just was i was asking myself in another one :smiley:

And is it ok for you ?
Of do you find to have to use taxi so much a bore (and maybe expensive) ?

About the buses : are they really not useful at all ?

There are buses everywhere in Kaohsiung. The problem is that most buses have a 20 minute wait between buses and they take slow circuitous routes. If you are okay with a 15-20 minute scooter trip turning into 50-60 minutes then buses are an option. I almost lost my mind one time when I bused down to Costco and back. It took 2.5 hrs and I spent about 20-30 minutes in Costco. Itā€™s about an hour roundtrip by scooter.

Yup thatā€™s true, buses take their sweet time, you can get around that by learning the scheduleā€¦ that didnā€™t work for me as I suck at reading Chineseā€¦
Taxiā€™s are to some extent even fun, but I found it frustrating trying to communicate with the drivers. But all in all no issues, ruifong, shinkuchan, central parkā€™s KTVā€™s, NSYSU, Sanduo, Lotus lake, all were in scope of the MRT and seriously were the only places I spent most of the time in. (I also occasionally got a ride on scooters, but that was late night/early morning)

If you can build your life around the MRT there, its workable. The MRT there is ā€œcuteā€ , and easy to navigate. A nice ride !

And like Taipeiā€™s MRT is cheap too.

It takes you straight to the Airport. And takes you across the city. You could conceivably use it for part of your journey somewhere and finish up with a short cab ride, once you get to know the system well.

Taipeiā€™s MRT linkup with the buses is as good as it gets, so many use the bus to connect to the MRt and vice versa.

Ktown you would have to (in order not to waste too much time) take the MRT for part of the journey (if suitable at all) and finish up by cab. But cabs in Taiwan are affordable. Not like in the USA , where most people dont ride a cab even once a year (like myself).

Yup true dat, taxiā€™s are dirt cheap in TW, and you can get the clerks at 7-11ā€™s to call you for oneā€¦
Now that you mention it, maybe I did build my life around the ā€œcuteā€ MRTā€¦ haha

Interesting.
So, MRT + taxi is a doable option even though maybe not the most practicle one.

YES doable. Yeah i was in the Ktown MRT in 2012 for the first time for a quick overniter visit on my way back from JKT. I got off at CKS, straight to HSR , straight to Ktown and the MRT ( think they call it KRT there) to downtown Ktown. Rode it several times the next day as well. Rode it to the airport where i picked up a rental car to drive to kenting for the day.

I thought it was very clean, neat, easy to figure out and inexpensive (like Taipeiā€™s). But it felt like MRT lite. For some reason. But remember when Taipei (and Taiwan) got its first MRT . The matra made Muzha to Nanking E.Rd (now onwards to Neihu) airport people mover style system?

That didnt seem like a SERIOUS subway system either (still doesnt) . But when the main subway line, the Tamshui line opened. THAT was a real subway !

Ktown system seems not made for too high a capacity. It will be overcrowded in 20 years. I do think another 2 or 3 lines will get built.

MRT systems only make sense with govt backing. Because the up front outlay is incredible.

Taipeiā€™s system is IIRC the worlds MOST EXPENSIVE at something like 30 billion US dollars when finished in a few years.

Although this article doesnā€™t really have any news,

thereā€™s something odd in the photo,

Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Liu Shih-fang, second right, and colleagues yesterday hold a press conference in Taipei to call for the construction of a new MRT line in Kaohsiung

and it doesnā€™t really explain whatā€™s with the fruit. (The signs just say yellow line, red line, etc.) Is it a sign of banana republicanism? :banana:

More like a case of segregation. Look how theyā€™re divided into piles by color. It may be separate but equal, but fruit segregation just isnā€™t right!

I canā€™t think of a decent comeback that wouldnā€™t be deeply offensive to some readers, so Iā€™ll withdraw. :bowing:

I would commend you on your brave adherence to political correctness, but then thereā€™s the small matter of that bowing head with the slit eyes and coolie hat. :sunglasses:

The day that I canā€™t :bowing: someone will be the day that I forsake the interwebs once and for all!

Of potential interest to forumosans in and around Kaohsiung: the Executive Yuan today reportedly approved the construction of a new KMRT line.

Guy

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It seems there are still a few kinks to work out with the new Kaoshiung Light Rail system . . .

Guy

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