Ok, I know this topic has been dealt with extensively on this board, however in my opinion the “search” function on this board sucks. LOL
Do you think a guy like me who plans to live right in Taipei City needs a scooter? I want to rely on public transportation as much as possible. I’m a city guy and I feel that a scooter could be an unecessary initial expense and a bothersome expense in terms of maintenence. Taipei will have all that I need, as far as I’m concerned. Restaurants, yoga schools, gyms, language schools, etc. I also never like the idea of driving when I am in foreign countries…too much unfamiliarity with the existing traffic laws and the thought of ending up in a traffic accident that lands me in the hospital is not my idea of fun.
However, I will concede the convenience of my own transportation would be nice. If only when doing heavy shopping at a place such as Costco, or on a rare trip to the beach. May be taxis are affordable enough to suffice in this regard?
:help: me make a decision, or at least have a strong idea before I arrive in Taiwan!
Need? Probably not. I have friends who have lived here for years without ever using one and use taxis for big shopping trips. The beaches are easy to access by public transport and taxis would be too expensive I reckon (actually not sure on the prices).
Having said that, i ride every day and actually enjoy it now, after 2.5 years I’ve never had an accident.
I’ve heard of loads of people living in Taipei who can happily do without their own transport, so I’d say its definitely do-able.
Heavy shopping at Costco? Taxi, no problem.
Trips to the beach, though? I’d say that would be far easier with private transport, although even then, places like Baishawan would be easy enough to get to via public transport.
This, though, is from a car and motorcycle owner. Taxis, for me, are for puking in while wasted.
I absolutely loathe scooters. They are a plague upon Taipei, which has an excellent public transportation system and cheap taxis.
You don’t need a scooter to live in Taipei or to get around conveniently on your days off.
And if you already don’t like the idea of driving while outside your home country, I can pretty much guarantee that you won’t want to drive a car or ride a scooter here, as many locals fall victim to insanity whenever they get behind the wheel.
Also, given the sizes of items at Costco, a scooter wouldn’t be practical for shopping trips there. You’d need a taxi anyway.
You wouldn’t want to take a taxi all the way from Taipei to the beach, though. Instead, take a train (or perhaps a bus) – and then a bus or taxi, if necessary.
Not to mention a pretty good bike path network around the rivers and stuff…
Public transport here is great and affordable. I like my scooter, though. I would just come here for a while and then decide about getting a 2-wheeled death-trap.
Yay! Great replies all around. Of course I’ll make a firm decision upon arrival, however my personality is very much a “planner” by nature. I like to have as many variables as possible worked out in my mind to feel comfortable and prepared. Living and working in NYC makes me feel confident about getting by without a car or scooter, so I figure I can manage in Taipei as well.
Consider that one scooter rider a day (on average ) loses his/her life in Taipei. I would think twice bout a scooter. I rode a 50cc moped for 13,000 KM in Taipei City and wouldnt do it again.
But that being said. YOu do need private transport for sulfur baths in Yangmingshan. You can take a train to Fulung (great trains and plenty of them) and then take a local bus to GINSHAWAN and LUNGTUNG (former abalone pits turned into swimming holes). Ginshawan and Lungtun are also easily reached by bus from taipei main station as well as every 20 mins or so from jilung. And jilung has a bus every 2 mins to and from Taipei as well as local trains.
In short, you dont really need a scooter for much except going to sulfur baths from yangmingshan to ginshan. Other then that, you are set. Rent a car for a day when you wanna do the sulfur thingy i guess? Other times , stay off the scooters is my advice.
Course Im more chicken then most, and you may be fine with one, but at least wait six months after arrival to even consider riding one. its a mad mad mad world out there , in terms of taiwan traffic.
I wouldnt do it!! A few westerners have lost their lives this way already.
Needs vary. There’s no MRT from my home to office #1, nor is the bus quick enough. There’s no MRT from that place to office #2, and there are no direct or quick busses between them either. I couldn’t squeeze both jobs in very easily if I didn’t use a scooter. I am considering moving to somewhere on the MRT later, though. I might keep the scooter but ride it much less at that point.
I can usually fit what I buy on the scooter, but I do have to go more often so as to limit the total volume each time. I do sometimes need that taxi, true.
I agree. Unless someone is capable of paying attention at all times, watching the mirrors at all times, keeping speeds down, and driving very defensively and skillfully, they shouldn’t even consider getting a scooter here. And even all those things plus a GOOD helmet and armored jacket and gloves are no guarantee.
Taxis are cheap, busses are cheap and plentiful (although slow), and the MRT is pretty good. If you’re planning on moving here, plan to live within walking distance of the MRT, and budget in a slightly higher rental cost due to this. Then you really won’t need a scooter.
Oh, if you’re coming here to study, plan on using the time spent waiting at bus stops and on the bus to sudy, e.g., using flash cards. Very efficient.
71Classic, I often shop at COSTCO, too, and I taxi it, eitehr from Neihu or Yunghe. Of course, the stuff I buy -kitty litter- is bulky and heavy. However, given the amount of balance, attention, and coordination necessary to cross the jungle of cars and buses and other scooters from such high concentration areas as where the COSTCO stores are located, it would be on the better interests of your personal integrity to taxi, I think. Unless you live nearby/go often/buy only cheese and pickles.
Sincerely, the bus network is quite convenient. You can go anywhere, and the connectivity -marvelously planned- with the MRT makes it sooo convenient. Really, try it out and you will see.
Of course, it also depends on the area you choose to live. I live right behind an MRT station. True, I could be paying less/the same for a bigger home a little further, but being able to scurry off to work in a minute or so makes it worthwhile. Still, it is in Taipei County, and much cheaper than what could be found for the same price in the city -unless it is an older place/further from the MRT.
Finally, if you like socializing/partying, then public transport is there for you. wink wink
yes you cant meet someone on the bus (or at the bus stop) if you are on your scooter can you? And yes , I did meet one super hottie one time. A few days fore I was to leave tho, regretably. But then thats pretty much the way it goes for me.
My friend’s dad met his mum after he gatecrashed her birthday party. He was pissed up drunk and was wiping the sick off his hands with the curtains. Then their eyes met and the rest is history.
Manchester… how I miss you.
Wow–come to think of it, I met a really nice girl on a bus here about 14 years ago. This little thread brought that memory back…
So, yeah, take the public transportation. I rode a scooter here for one year, and I pretty much hated it. I would arrive at work kind of a nervous wreck and smelling like the back of a bus. And I had two accidents–one purely my fault and one the fault of a taxi driver who, surprise surprise, fled the scene.
Now, I sit on a bus and listen to the iPod (mostly to drown out the sound of the stupid bus TVs!) I look outside and feel grateful I’m not part of the scooter scrum.
I have decided if I am ever gonna drive in Taiwan it’s gonna be a car, a big car or something so if accidents happen I am less likely to die. Actually I wouldn’t drive here unless I had a tank… I really wish they make it really hard to get a scooter because there’s so many of them its actually making the city look like shit because there’s not a place that isn’t stuffed with them. If you live in Taichung where public transport sucks then by all means get a vehicle… like a cheap car or something. Taipei is alot like New York, don’t really need a vehicle and you can rent for the times that you do.
Damn my infernal tiredness and messed up bodyclock!