You know what I hate? When I’m coming down the escalator, and there’s my train ahead about to close doors in eight more seconds, but right in front of me on the escalator there’s a mother and child (or whatever) standing hand-in-hand–effectively blocking the entire escalator. With one hand on the handrail, and the other holding the other’s hand, looking oh-so-happy and comfortable. (in a Charlton Heston voice:) Damn you all to hell!
Never, ever flush a public toilet. Just trust me. (Let the maid do it.) For that matter, never touch any part of the bathroom, including especially the door handle. Handrails in general are filthy, but it won’t matter if you’re tall and can use the roof or the very tops of the bars. (Tall people are cleaner than short people, as that old song once pointed out.)
I wish they’d lower fares for one or two stops. There’s no technical reason why they couldn’t adjust it for short distances. What’s the point in discouraging it?
I also wish they’d make the lines loop around. There should be an extention connecting the zoo with Hsintien, and another one in…what is it, Kunyang? Near the Academia Pseudo-Sinica, where the planned extention stops ONE STOP SHORT of a full loop. I mean, can it be that hard to update the software?
I hate people who try to use the bottleneck in front of the stations to hawk something. Like freebie newspapers, or fast food coupons, or begging Buddhist monks with their little “Amitofo” loudspeakers.
I hate the positioning of the clocks. Often you can’t see what time it is from the trains, or from another level above that deck. Also they fill them with in-house messages, like not getting pickpocketed or whatever, so you have to watch for awhile before you learn how soon the next one’s coming. But the new “time left” clocks are great, it lets you know how fast to tear off running.
You know what’s great? Little kids in the first compartment, placing palms against where the instrument panel would be and leaning into the direction of travel. “Whooooooom, whooooommmmmmm…”
As everyone probably already knows, my pet peeve about the MRT is its stupid approach to romanization. “Kuting” station? Do they mean Guding, Guting, Kuding, or Kuting? It is impossible to know which is the correct pronunciation from the MRT’s bastardized Wade-Giles.
And then there’s “Tamshui (Danshui)” [sic], which should be “Tanshui (Danshui)” in bastardized Wade-Giles , “Danshui” in hanyu pinyin, or “Tamsui (Danshui)” in the historical spelling reflective of the Taiwanese name for the city.[/quote]
But at least the announcements are better, they used to tell you to change for the Tam-shoo-i and Chong-Her lines, and who remembers Da-E-An station, the English is still pretty bad in the anouncements, “Thank you for your patronage and have a nice day” ? Makes me want to sometimes
It might be useful for avoiding those annoying “Wei! Wei! Wei! Wei! Hey! Hey! Hao! bye-bye” type conversations, but the real reason for cell phone free carriages is for people who have pacemakers. Apparently the radiation from a mobile phone can interfere with the pacemaker’s function.
The phones don’t mess with the MRT’s electronics, just with the patience of some people who don’t want to listen to cell-phone users shouting “Wei? Wei? Ni zai nali?” for the duration of their rides.
Can’t be as the signs are explicitly only for the first and last car and the waiting area where those cars stops (blue line).
So I do assume it’s related to the electronics as all the controls are in the head of the first and last car.
Otherwise you can find friendly reminders in all the cars (like in buses) not to be noisy / not talk loud on your handphone, not to eat etc. but the above mentioned blue area is diffferent - unless you want people with peacemakers to gather in those cars only.
The construction of the extension of the orange line (to San Chong) and red line (along HsinYi road) have started btw., just need to wait another 7 years …
Oh, and I do love the MRT. Easy to use, clean and efficient - but during rush hour I try to avoid it. Use EasyCard as it’s the fastes way to pass through the gates and makes changing to a bus easy, too, since the ride is free within the next 2 hours (one section).
While I like the MRT in general, the layouts of the stations leave a lot to be desired. The worst offender has to be Taipei main station. The walk while transferring between blue and red lines takes ages, and is frustrating because of the bad layout.
How many times have you wanted to go from point A to point B, but had to fight your way through a mass people moving from left to right (or right to left) blocking your path.
Whoever designed the stations obviously paid zero attention to the way “people traffic” would be travelling within the station confines, especially at ruch hour.
I’m rather glad I consulted the future MRT construction line map so I knew not to move into a place on Xinsheng S. Road a few months ago. Several years of constant construction outside my door would not be a happy thing.
OK, it seems like everybody loves the Jerry, the gripes and pet peeves notwithstanding. Now that we all like Mr. T, which one in particular do you like better? The more spacious red/blue/green/orange lines, or the elevated brown (Muzha) line? Personally, I prefer the brown, even though I don’t get to ride it as much. Maybe it’s the lighting or the layout of the interior, it just has better, well, ambiance. And it’s more “fun” to ride looking out at the cityscape. What do you think?
I catch the MRT a few times a week, but never in rush hour, so I can usually get a seat. If not I ‘hog the whole pole’ to lean against. Personally I never sit int he reserved seat, but don’t get up for anyone when I’min the other seats (and it annoys me if some old lady gets on and the people in the reserved seats should get up and they don’t and I feel a bit guilty for not getting up myself, but really think they should get up). Don’t know what that shit about getting up for kiddies is though. In NZ kiddies have to get up for adults. People use their phones in the front car and it doesn’t seem to crash so I go ahead and use mine too. People standing on the wrong side of the escalator is annoying but they seem to be learning unlike HK where theynever stand on the right. I use the EZcard of course, and just wish I could buy stuff at the 7-11 with it.
The new proposed lines are interesting, I especially think the one that goes round from the end of the blue line, through Nangang, Neihu and Dazhi will be good as those parts are quite inaccessible. My own proposed line is even better. Its a tourist line. It goes from Minquan W Rd up to Shi Pai along the existing Tamshui line then over past the veterans hospital to Tian Mu, through tian Mu by Shuangxi park then up to that Uni and the Palace Museum then through the tunnel to Dazhi (meeting the proposed circle line) then down to Songshan airport, then back along Minquan E rd circling back tot he stating point - pretty handy huh. I also think they should havea line to CKS airport.
Yeah, I love the MRT, andit will be fantastic if all the proposed lines get completed.
[quote=“MatthewH”]
But at least the announcements are better, they used to tell you to change for the Tam-shoo-i and Chong-Her lines, and who remembers Da-E-An station, the English is still pretty bad in the anouncements, “Thank you for your patronage and have a nice day” ? Makes me want to sometimes[/quote]
Hah, my home station of Shihpai always used to crack me up. shee-pay
interesting point about taipei station monkey, those few dozen yards between the elevators can really be a gauntlet. wonder how it could have been improved though? other than really walling off opposing traffic flow?
[quote=“Rascal”]Use EasyCard as it’s the fastes way to pass through the gates and makes changing to a bus easy, too, since the ride is free within the next 2 hours (one section).[/quote] The freebie is actually good for 3 hours, at least. One Saturday morning I took the MRT to Hsimen for a matinee. Got out of the movie two hours later, ran into a friend on the street, chatted with him, went to lunch, and hop on a bus. The ride was still free after more than 3 hours after I left the MRT.
Not an MRT rider but i’ve always wondered why the line going up FuHsing stops within spitting distance of the local airport but far enough away from it to make it inconvenient for anyone wanting to get there.
Was this preassure from the taxi drivers (third biggest gang in Taiwan)? Surely not? Anyone know?
MRT surfing is a good way to ward off the germs, but there’s that highly technical section between CKS Memorial and Kuting stations (a quick left and right turn). Hard not to grab onto something without wiping out. That’s why I use Purell religiously in Taipei.
Was this preassure from the taxi drivers (third biggest gang in Taiwan)? Surely not? Anyone know?
Guess it was always planned to go to NeiHu, the extension now being under construction.
And just imagine people getting with their bags and suitcased onto that line - it’s already crowded enough and once it links to NeiHu it will probably be worst.
Oh, I did receive a future plan by email once, probably good for the next 50 years, including lines to CKS and Keelung.
Not sure though if someone just had a good time and drew some colorful lines on a piece of paper for the fun of it …
There is a plan for a line to CKS Airport, but there have been several articles in the papers over the last few days saying that the contractor who won the bid has been unable to obtain financing for the project. Therefore, construction of the line is now in doubt.
There is a plan for an MRT station at the Songshan Airport as part of the Neihu line. You can see all the details of proposed extensions in this link that I previously posted above.
The Songshan airport will probably be shut down within ten years anyway. Once the high speed rail line is complete it won’t be necessary and it is not a very good location for an airport.
Poagao: I think the sign in those cars saying Please do not use your cellphone in this car is to make a few of the cars spaces where passengers don’t have to listen to the irritating ringing of the phones. That’s what bothers people, not the quiet talking. It’s those phones that ring and ring and the owner is sleeping and picks it up 7 rings later, meanwhile annoying everyone else on the train. The MRT is not a private office or living room, it is a public space. That is why there are rules for no boomboxes, no smoking, no farting and no cellphones. On some cars. Not all. I like that. Those who want to use cellphones go to their cars, but leave a few cars quiet and cellphone ringless. Yes. Why let the damn cellphone rule our lives? Take back the night!
Origionally quoted by Mark0938 [quote]Was this preassure from the taxi drivers (third biggest gang in Taiwan)? Surely not? Anyone know?[/quote] Curious as to first and second? KMT and the Mafia?
My cellphone’s always on vibrate and doesn’t ring, so I suppose that rule still doesn’t apply to me. I was thinking, however, that since the first and last cars have those empty spaces for wheelchairs, it might indeed be a health-related precaution?
There is an airforce base located at Sungshan Airport . Citing “national security” the military blocked the construction of the proposed Neihu extention which would have included an airport station and a tunnel under the runway to Dazhi.
[quote=“Rascal”]The phones don’t mess with the MRT’s electronics, just with the patience of some people who don’t want to listen to cell-phone users shouting “Wei? Wei? Ni zai nali?” for the duration of their rides.
Can’t be as the signs are explicitly only for the first and last car and the waiting area where those cars stops (blue line).
So I do assume it’s related to the electronics as all the controls are in the head of the first and last car.[/quote]
I was just repeating what I heard from an MRT employee, whom I had asked about this very situation. I still think it’s correct.
I like that there is a phone-free zone – even if it is not always well observed, apparently even by some members of the foreign community, who can often be all too quick to complain about how locals don’t do things in a “civilized” manner.
sometimes