Taiwan's city buses

After reading the story in the newspaper about the e-bus systems I have to agree that most of the city buses need upgrading/replacement. In fact 95% of the city buses or not suited for use as public transport city buses.
In most modern cities in the west they use ‘low’ floor buses now tho give elderly and disabeled ease of entrance … here you need to climb 3-4 steps before you get on.

I’m wondering why cities in Taiwan don’t us the ‘extended’ buses … it could be a solution for the long hours drivers make, 1 bus could be shared in shifts by several drivers and keeping the capacity during rush hour.

Going with such a long vehicle through Taipei traffic doesn’t seem practical. Further most normal busses already have problems to fit into the bus stop bay where cars often stop or park.
I think the busses are made locally (not the chassis but the body), perhaps they don’t have the technology / skills yet, or it’s more expensive to make a low floor bus.

“Articulated buses” (such as pictured) have been used very successfully in many cities.

San Francisco, a rather small but heavily populated urban center, has been using them with great success for 25+ years.

Now whether that success can be transferred to this island is another question.

These buses are made for dence populated, high city traffic … but other low floor buses will improve the quality of public transport anyways … driving these babies in Taipei or any big city in Taiwan wouldn’t be a problem …

Nice front end…Looks like an ‘evil’ grin

… and this articulated bus powered by CNG … range 300 km

Also … one of the best features are the double doors, makes access/exit easier and faster.

… and if you want a ‘low’ floor bus that’s shorter for smaller streets …

Off course, to be able to design/manufacture these kind of buses you need to think first and not just slam some metal on a frame …

Those super long buses would be ok here for some routes, like Roosevelt. They have that bus lane in the middle of the road. Could be made to run on electricity as well, like Vancouver’s trolly buses.

Others, I don’t know, considering how people are always zooming around in their blind spots, parking in the bus zones etc. And also, isn’t there a stupid law that says the drivers are supposed to go from the bus pickup zone to the left hand lane as soon as possible? Someone told me that and it makes sense considering the fact that the bastards ALWAYS seem to do that and cut off traffic while they’re doing it.

I’ve always found it weird how tall, noisy, and old fashioned the buses here are. They ride rough, the steps are narrow, and when they are crowded, look out. They just seem really utilitarian to me, and unneccessarily so. Like somebody just slammed a deisel engine on the back of a frame and slapped some sheet metal and glass around it.

I’ve ridden those double length buses through the streets of Quito, Equador. They had this weird channel cut through the various neighborhoods I went through (Iwas lost) with the sides bricked up so nobody else could drive there. Maybe inches to spare on the sides. My finger got pinched between a safety railing and the articulating part during a tight squeeze around a corner.

That’s where law enforcement comes into play …

I’d swear the 22 on Hsinyi Road is articulated and low-type.

I just recall that the 74 (runs along Fuxing, Heping and Roosevelt) is a low floor bus, so they actually do have those here. But then different lines are run by different private operators, so they probably decide what bus to use. And how long they use them (decades, as it appears for some lines).

I think the main problem is that the lines are run by private companies, not the city government, and some operators seem to do whatever they want with their busses and drivers. It either lacks proper guidelines or proper enforcement, as so often.

Yep. some 74’s are the low buses.

Problem with the low buses is that there are less seats, and stupidly they put the dangling hand holders far too high for the average adult twnese, girls, and kids so if it gets crowded… watch the bodies fly.

Just today I was in a crowded 74 and overheard people complaining about the hand holders.

My mom injured her foot before making the trip to Taiwan and had to use crutches to get around.

We made one trip on the public bus and she had to crawl up the stairs on her hands and knees to get to a seat, and then slide down the stairs on her butt to get off the bus.

She’s a trooper, so it didn’t really bother her so much, but it was pretty awful.

I’ve always thought of the public transport systems as being at least partially geared towards the special needs community, but here … good luck.

[quote=“Rascal”]I just recall that the 74 (runs along Fuxing, Heping and Roosevelt) is a low floor bus, so they actually do have those here. But then different lines are run by different private operators, so they probably decide what bus to use. And how long they use them (decades, as it appears for some lines).

I think the main problem is that the lines are run by private companies, not the city government, and some operators seem to do whatever they want with their busses and drivers. It either lacks proper guidelines or proper enforcement, as so often.[/quote]

It’s to the government to set specs for what buses can be used, after all they’ll pay the bill in the end … you don’t think that the bus companies just run for the spare change people pay …

The 74, 685, 15, 285, 18, 22, 20, and a few other buses have these low seaters… of course, the seating sucks as the front four on either side are often very elevated and the support for these seats take away from the aisle space so there’s barely room for one person to stand, plus the aforementioned hand rings that even I, at 5’7", have difficulty in reaching. There’s hardly any seating capacity and even less space for people to stand.

Back in my little hometown, we have low rider buses with a wheelchair lift and they have better seating capacity than the buses here which are suppose to service a population well over 60 times bigger than my hometown.

Those who have been living in Taipei for the last 15+ years will know that the city bought and tried out many different types of buses over the years. We have seen “double-decker” buses, “accordion” buses, buses that can be lowered, Hungarian and Korean made buses, and so on.

I am not sure if the government follows any kind of long-term plan here. It seems that they pick bus types rather randomly, probably wasting a lot of tax-payers’ money in the process and maybe earning under-the-table cash somehow.

I don’t care much about the type of buses they run, as long as they are environmental-friendly. Where are the zero-emission buses that have become popular in other cities around the world?

I would also like to see a regulation that forces every new licensed taxi-driver to be forced to drive a environment-friendly vehicle. Those taxis are polluting the city big time.

I just hate when the buses stink and have cockroaches running in them. That shit is disgusting. As a tall man, the higher the ceiling is on the buses, the better for me.

Here is me killing a cockroach.
http://one.revver.com/watch/291256

Once again, it’s not just slapping seats in them … there need to be invested some thought in it …

The point I was making is that even my little piddling hometown of 50,000+ is doing a better job with their bus system as far as equipment goes. They could use some work on getting more stops and better routes, but their buses are more comfortable, seat more people, and are built to make it easy for less-abled people to also ride them.

Taipei has a lot of homework to do on improving their buses.

[quote=“ImaniOU”]
Back in my little hometown, we have low rider buses with a wheelchair lift and they have better seating capacity than the buses here which are suppose to service a population well over 60 times bigger than my hometown.

[/quote]

Of course wheelchair lifts would be great assuming the wheelchairs weren’t blocked by the traffic parked on the footpaths, or the standard planted lamp posts and electrical boxes that otherwise block the way. Longer buses can’t travel, as of course they can’t turn in Taipei traffic because of too many selfish twats that won’t give way. Alternative fuel vehicles are more expensive than the present diesel vehicles, and companies are not encouraged to reduce emissions by the government. New design vehicles will have to be re taught to old drivers at a cost to companies, so no chance there. Parts would be an issue as they would have to be imported and so would suffer from high importation costs and taxes. Repair would be a huge issue as even present buses are not kept to any high standard of service and new buses would be more unfamiliar to the dimwits that presently service the simpler buses. Low ride design would offer less side protection to passengers from intrusion that the buses used at present offer and so may be more dangerous. Air conditioning on alternate buses would almost certainly be less effective in the Taiwan climate. There are a few ideas against the use of newer transport.