The Taoyuan Airport Line isn't getting great ridership: 130,000/day or so, less than the Wen-Hu Line. Perhaps that's due to terrible transfers. More telling is that only 20% of the riders are taking it to the airport. In other words, people find it more useful to go to places other than the airport. Seen another way only 25% of the people using the airport take the train there.
It is extremely difficult for rail to airports to work. Airports simply aren't massive destinations compared to downtown business or commercial districts- just think how often you go to your job or even go somewhere central for shopping or entertainment, versus how often you go to the airport. Building a rail line around getting to the airport was a mistake on Taiwan's part, as it does little to decrease car usage and therefore does little to help the environment, and isn't useful for most people or financially self-supporting to boot.
Relevant article:
http://news.tvbs.com.tw/life/820010
Showing posts with label Taipei. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Taipei. Show all posts
Thursday, November 23, 2017
Friday, March 25, 2016
Demolishing Pedestrian Bridges
Taipei is considering demolishing the pedestrian bridge at Xinyi and Keelung Rds., part of an effort to remove bridges and tunnels that are rarely used.
As long as this is accompanied by street-level crossings, this is another good step for Taipei. These bridges and tunnels' only purpose is the convenience of drivers, who don't have to wait for pedestrians to cross the street. But for pedestrians, especially those who are disabled, old, or carrying anything heavy, they are a nuisance and lengthen the amount of time it takes to cross a street. They are also block sidewalks and sunlight and are ugly to boot.
So far Ko has been pretty good for pedestrians- let's hope he doesn't get himself driven out of office.
As long as this is accompanied by street-level crossings, this is another good step for Taipei. These bridges and tunnels' only purpose is the convenience of drivers, who don't have to wait for pedestrians to cross the street. But for pedestrians, especially those who are disabled, old, or carrying anything heavy, they are a nuisance and lengthen the amount of time it takes to cross a street. They are also block sidewalks and sunlight and are ugly to boot.
So far Ko has been pretty good for pedestrians- let's hope he doesn't get himself driven out of office.
Friday, March 18, 2016
A New Xinyi-Neihu Line
With Neihu facing a transportation crisis Taipei is looking for solutions. This situation isn't very surprising; Neihu's population has been growing faster than that of any other district in Taipei, and its single, medium-capacity MRT line was crowded upon opening and has only become more crowded since.
Several cheaper solutions have been floated, including HOV lanes, bus lanes and wider bridges (though for some reason not more cars on Neihu Line trains, which I thought was in the works already). The first two of these make sense, because they encourage more efficient use of space and energy. The most interesting suggestion however is a new MRT line linking Neihu to Xinyi. Such a line is already in Taipei's long-term plan but the alignment is bad: it makes a big semioval from Jiannan Rd. east into central Neihu then west to Minsheng Community, lengthening trip times; it crosses paths with the Songshan and Xinyi Lines but doesn't have transfers to them (not to mention to the TRA); and it doesn't actually pass through any major economic centers, forcing passengers to transfer to get where they're likely to go.
Luckily Taipei is planning an entirely new line. According to one report, this line would start at Xiangshan (hopefully as a branch of the Xinyi Line for better integration into the system), have transfers to the Bannan Line at Yongchun and the Songshan Line at Songshan, and then proceed to Neihu Science Park. This routing would both provide better connections to the rest of the MRT system and the TRA and appears to offer a more direct route. Assuming it is a branch of the Xinyi Line it would also provide direct access to at least one major economic center, the Taipei 101 area.
A route down Keelung Rd. would be even more ideal, as that could link directly to City Hall as well as 101 and Songshan, and could then be extended to Liuzhangli and Gongguan, also an important commercial area, and then into the underserved eastern section of Yonghe and Zhonghe. However, this current proposal would still be a very useful addition to Taipei's transit network.
Several cheaper solutions have been floated, including HOV lanes, bus lanes and wider bridges (though for some reason not more cars on Neihu Line trains, which I thought was in the works already). The first two of these make sense, because they encourage more efficient use of space and energy. The most interesting suggestion however is a new MRT line linking Neihu to Xinyi. Such a line is already in Taipei's long-term plan but the alignment is bad: it makes a big semioval from Jiannan Rd. east into central Neihu then west to Minsheng Community, lengthening trip times; it crosses paths with the Songshan and Xinyi Lines but doesn't have transfers to them (not to mention to the TRA); and it doesn't actually pass through any major economic centers, forcing passengers to transfer to get where they're likely to go.
Luckily Taipei is planning an entirely new line. According to one report, this line would start at Xiangshan (hopefully as a branch of the Xinyi Line for better integration into the system), have transfers to the Bannan Line at Yongchun and the Songshan Line at Songshan, and then proceed to Neihu Science Park. This routing would both provide better connections to the rest of the MRT system and the TRA and appears to offer a more direct route. Assuming it is a branch of the Xinyi Line it would also provide direct access to at least one major economic center, the Taipei 101 area.
A route down Keelung Rd. would be even more ideal, as that could link directly to City Hall as well as 101 and Songshan, and could then be extended to Liuzhangli and Gongguan, also an important commercial area, and then into the underserved eastern section of Yonghe and Zhonghe. However, this current proposal would still be a very useful addition to Taipei's transit network.
Saturday, January 17, 2015
Ko Wen-je and Lin Yu-chang Push for Nangang to Keelung MRT
One of Ko Wen-je's first moves after being elected mayor of Taipei was declaring support for a Nangang to Keelung MRT line, as part of a plan to build "youth housing" in Keelung. Although extending the MRT to Keelung seems to make sense and appears to be popular in Xizhi and Keelung, it hasn't gone anywhere- and for good reason.
For one thing, the route is already served by the TRA. Yes, the MRT is a good deal more pleasant and better-run, but given that MRT is supposed to stop at least once every two kilometers it's hard to see how it could be as fast as the TRA, even allowing for lower headways. What's more, the TRA is already slower than freeway buses, at least during off-peak.
There's also the question of demand: it isn't clear that enough people want to travel between Keelung and Taipei to justify an additional rail line. Even Keelung Station doesn't get a whole lot of ridership, with 6.5 million rides last year- about the same as Yingge and far fewer than Shulin, Taoyuan or Zhongli. Except for Songshan all the other stations between Taipei and Keelung have even fewer passengers.
Even if we assume there is sufficient unmet demand, the case for a new MRT line isn't obvious. Increasing capacity on the TRA could be sufficient, and would avoid the steep price tag of a whole new MRT line. The government has already taken some steps to do this, by adding a third track to a section of the TRA line near Nangang, but there are still only 11 trains per direction during rush hour- far fewer than many other similar rail systems manage in other countries. Longer trains could also be considered, as well as larger doors and level boarding to speed passenger flow and shorten dwell times. If capacity really does hit a maximum, perhaps it would be possible to add even more 3-track segments, 3-track the whole line, or rebuild curvy sections to shorten travel time. This would be expensive, but it would presumably still be cheaper than a whole new MRT line, and would provide much better connectivity with the rest of the TRA system. Turning lanes on the freeway into bus-only lanes could also increase the transportation capacity between Taipei and Keelung.
If bus lanes and upgrading the TRA isn't enough, then an MRT line would make sense- but not for bringing people from Keelung to Taipei. An MRT line could provide local, short distance service, with connections to major TRA stations providing transfers to TRA trains, which would provide express service. Such a line could probably terminate at Wudu or at the farthest Baifu, beyond which there simply aren't that many people until you get to downtown Keelung. Ideally the Bannan Line would be extended, though the current government claims that any Bannan Line extension would be blocked by the TRA and HSR and would therefore be impossible. Alternatives include extending the as-yet-unbuilt Minsheng-Xizhi Line, as the KMT appears to favor, or extending the Neihu Line. Ko and Keelung mayor-elect Lin Yu-chang seem to prefer starting a new line from Nangang, though that would force everyone bound for Taipei to transfer and make such a line less appealing than the TRA.
Even if there is too much demand for any of the above ideas to handle, then a whole new express line could be considered- but an MRT line, as it is defined in Taiwan right now, would probably still be too slow to compete with current options.
Although it's great that the Taiwanese electorate is still supportive of MRT, the government should still only build it when it's actually appropriate. There should also be a concerted effort to improve the TRA, which is all too often treated as a tourist attraction, rather than as the serious transportation system it is for hundreds of thousands, and could be for hundreds of thousands more.
For one thing, the route is already served by the TRA. Yes, the MRT is a good deal more pleasant and better-run, but given that MRT is supposed to stop at least once every two kilometers it's hard to see how it could be as fast as the TRA, even allowing for lower headways. What's more, the TRA is already slower than freeway buses, at least during off-peak.
There's also the question of demand: it isn't clear that enough people want to travel between Keelung and Taipei to justify an additional rail line. Even Keelung Station doesn't get a whole lot of ridership, with 6.5 million rides last year- about the same as Yingge and far fewer than Shulin, Taoyuan or Zhongli. Except for Songshan all the other stations between Taipei and Keelung have even fewer passengers.
Even if we assume there is sufficient unmet demand, the case for a new MRT line isn't obvious. Increasing capacity on the TRA could be sufficient, and would avoid the steep price tag of a whole new MRT line. The government has already taken some steps to do this, by adding a third track to a section of the TRA line near Nangang, but there are still only 11 trains per direction during rush hour- far fewer than many other similar rail systems manage in other countries. Longer trains could also be considered, as well as larger doors and level boarding to speed passenger flow and shorten dwell times. If capacity really does hit a maximum, perhaps it would be possible to add even more 3-track segments, 3-track the whole line, or rebuild curvy sections to shorten travel time. This would be expensive, but it would presumably still be cheaper than a whole new MRT line, and would provide much better connectivity with the rest of the TRA system. Turning lanes on the freeway into bus-only lanes could also increase the transportation capacity between Taipei and Keelung.
If bus lanes and upgrading the TRA isn't enough, then an MRT line would make sense- but not for bringing people from Keelung to Taipei. An MRT line could provide local, short distance service, with connections to major TRA stations providing transfers to TRA trains, which would provide express service. Such a line could probably terminate at Wudu or at the farthest Baifu, beyond which there simply aren't that many people until you get to downtown Keelung. Ideally the Bannan Line would be extended, though the current government claims that any Bannan Line extension would be blocked by the TRA and HSR and would therefore be impossible. Alternatives include extending the as-yet-unbuilt Minsheng-Xizhi Line, as the KMT appears to favor, or extending the Neihu Line. Ko and Keelung mayor-elect Lin Yu-chang seem to prefer starting a new line from Nangang, though that would force everyone bound for Taipei to transfer and make such a line less appealing than the TRA.
Even if there is too much demand for any of the above ideas to handle, then a whole new express line could be considered- but an MRT line, as it is defined in Taiwan right now, would probably still be too slow to compete with current options.
Although it's great that the Taiwanese electorate is still supportive of MRT, the government should still only build it when it's actually appropriate. There should also be a concerted effort to improve the TRA, which is all too often treated as a tourist attraction, rather than as the serious transportation system it is for hundreds of thousands, and could be for hundreds of thousands more.
Saturday, May 31, 2014
New Details on the Direct Taipei-Yilan Rail Line
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| From the MOTC's Railway Reconstruction Bureau |
Support for the line is far from unanimous. It would still cross through reservoir catchment areas, and near many old mine shafts. Environmentalists worry that it will damage relatively untouched ecosystems. At least one legislator thinks 18 minutes isn't worth nearly NT$50 billion, and that money would be better spent upgrading the TRA.
Some of these fears are certainly overblown- presumably this wouldn't be the world's first rail line built around old mine shafts. The key questions should be will the environmental benefit of fewer people driving be worth the damage caused by its construction, and will the line earn enough money to justify its cost. Though this line might save "only" 18 minutes, that should be enough to draw many people out of cars and planes and onto trains, boosting the TRA's revenue and cutting down carbon dioxide emissions. It could also obviate the need for future road and highway expansion. There's no way of knowing unless the government does a more complete study.
Saturday, February 8, 2014
Taipei MRT Ridership by Station in 2013
Below is a list of the most heavily used MRT stations in Taipei in 2013, by the total number of boardings and alightings at each station. The data comes from the Taipei Department of Transportation.
As with the top 10, the bottom 10 are mostly the same as last year, with the exception of Touqianzhuang being replaced by Linguang. This leaves the Wenhu Line dominating the list with 5 stations, while the Danshui and Zhonghe-Xinlu Lines are tied for second with 2 each.
Below are the average number of riders passing through all the stations on each line. Average ridership for all stations grew by 4.8% compared to 2012.
Unsurprisingly, the Bannan Line was the most heavily used line, followed by the Danshui-Xindian Line, the Zhonghe-Xinlu Line and finally the Wenhu Line. This reflects how many stations each line has in the top ten. Ridership was most uneven on the Zhonghe-Xinlu Line, with the Zhonghe Line having the heaviest ridership, the trunk section of the Xinzhuang Line seeing mediocre ridership and the Luzhou and especially the Xinzhuang branches having very low ridership. The Xinzhuang Branch was the second least-used section of the MRT, followed only by the Muzha section of the Wenhu Line.
Growth was very uneven in 2013. The largest gains in ridership were on the newest lines, with the central section of the Xinzhuang Line between Zhongxiao Xinsheng and Daqiaotou growing faster than any other section of the MRT, and Songjiang Nanjing gaining more users than any other station, followed by Xingtian Temple. This was presumably the result of the improved connection to the Zhonghe Line, though some of the increase may also have been caused by people adjusting their travel habits to take advantage of the new line- for example, people may be more willing to take jobs near the Xinzhuang Line that they were before.
The Zhonghe Line saw the second-largest gains after the trunk section of the Xinzhuang Line, presumably from increased frequency and the faster connection to the Xinzhuang Line and east Taipei. However, the increase was less than half that of the Xinzhuang trunk line, suggesting that the Xinzhuang Line gained more from the new connection. The Xinzhuang and Luzhou branches also gained quite a bit of ridership compared to 2012, presumably mostly from people adjusting to the new lines.
The Wenhu Line also saw uneven growth, with the Neihu section growing faster than the system average while the Muzha section losing passengers, especially in its central Taipei section. Even with this decline- which follows a decline last year- the Muzha Line still has much higher ridership than it did before the Neihu extension opened.
Finally, although it doesn't appear on the above chart, the central section of the Danshui Line (that is, from Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall to Shuanglian) also lost ridership. Part of this may have been caused by Zhonghe and Xindian Line passengers switching to the Xinzhuang Line to get to central and eastern Zhongshan District rather than transferring to buses at Zhongshan, Shuanglian or Minquan West Rd. stations, though the decline at NTU Hospital and Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall suggest it may be caused by other factors.
Overall, trends in 2013 were positive: newer, lesser used parts of the MRT gained ridership, which balanced out losses in more heavily used sections. However, ridership remains very uneven, with the Bannan Line connecting to far more destinations than any other line. To even out ridership Taipei should focus on developing destinations near central areas along less heavily used sections of the MRT. For example, developing Minquan West Rd. as a destination would attract more riders from the underused Xinzhuang and Luzhou branches, as well as from the not especially crowded Xinzhuang trunk and northern Danshui Line.
| Station | Line | Exits+Entrances |
|---|---|---|
| Taipei Main Station | Danshui, Bannan | 114,065,000 |
| Taipei City Hall | Bannan | 47,641,000 |
| Ximen | Bannan, Xiaonanmen | 43,468,000 |
| Zhongxiao Fuxing | Bannan, Wenhu | 38,390,000 |
| Zhongxiao Dunhua | Bannan | 29,524,000 |
| Danshui | Danshui | 29,037,000 |
| Xinpu | Bannan | 26,768,000 |
| Banqiao | Bannan | 25,420,000 |
| Jiantan | Danshui | 25,387,000 |
| Dingxi | Zhonghe-Xinlu | 22,743,000 |
The top seven stations remain the same as in 2012, but there's been some movement among the bottom three. First, Banqiao continued to gain users, and overtook Jiantan to become the 7th most popular station in the system, just shy of Xinpu, which saw its ridership fall slightly. Banqiao remains the only station opened after 2001 to be among the top 10. In addition, Dingxi replaced Zhongshan as the 10th most popular station, presumably boosted by the Zhonghe Line's increased frequency and new direct connection to the Xinzhuang Line. Dingxi is the 4th station in New Taipei to make the list, and the first on the Zhonghe-Xinlu Line. Since the Dingxi area has little to attract people from outside Yonghe, Dingxi is almost certainly an origin station rather than a destination, suggesting that the Zhonghe-Xinlu Line feeds passengers into other parts of the MRT system rather than take them directly to their destination.
As in pervious years, the Bannan Line was the dominant line in the MRT system, with 7 of the top ten stations and all of the top 5. The Danshui Line remains the second most important, even though its share of the top ten dropped from 4 stations to 3. The Zhonghe-Xinlu Line just broke into the top ten with one station, while the Wenhu Line only made it onto the list through its transfer station with the Bannan Line.
Below are the 10 least-used stations for 2013:
Below are the 10 least-used stations for 2013:
| Station | Line | Exits+Entrances |
|---|---|---|
| Nangang Software Park | Wenhu | 789,000 |
| Wanfang Community | Wenhu | 1,363,000 |
| Xiaobitan | Xiaobitan | 1,413,000 |
| Dahu Park | Wenhu | 1,900,000 |
| Zhongyi | Danshui | 1,990,000 |
| Xinhai | Wenhu | 2,078,000 |
| Xianse Temple | Zhonghe-Xinlu | 2,137,000 |
| Sanchong | Zhonghe-Xinlu | 2,202,000 |
| Fuxinggang | Danshui | 2,455,000 |
| Linguang | Wenhu | 2,603,000 |
As with the top 10, the bottom 10 are mostly the same as last year, with the exception of Touqianzhuang being replaced by Linguang. This leaves the Wenhu Line dominating the list with 5 stations, while the Danshui and Zhonghe-Xinlu Lines are tied for second with 2 each.
Below are the average number of riders passing through all the stations on each line. Average ridership for all stations grew by 4.8% compared to 2012.
| Line | Av. Exits+Entrances/Stations | % Change |
|---|---|---|
| Bannan | 20,690,000 | 2.0% |
| Danshui/Xindian | 13,596,000 | N/A |
| Xindian | 11,053,000 | 3.2% |
| Danshui | 15,101,000 | 2.6% |
| Zhonghe-Xinlu | 9,268,000 | N/A |
| Zhonghe | 17,325,000 | 10.6% |
| Zhongxiao Xinsheng to Daqiaotou | 9.944,000 | 26.6% |
| Luzhou | 7,137,000 | 8.2% |
| Xinzhuang | 4,763,000 | 8.8% |
| Wenhu | 5,956,000 | 2.2% |
| Neihu | 5,152,000 | 6.3% |
| Muzha | 6,759,000 | -0.7% |
Unsurprisingly, the Bannan Line was the most heavily used line, followed by the Danshui-Xindian Line, the Zhonghe-Xinlu Line and finally the Wenhu Line. This reflects how many stations each line has in the top ten. Ridership was most uneven on the Zhonghe-Xinlu Line, with the Zhonghe Line having the heaviest ridership, the trunk section of the Xinzhuang Line seeing mediocre ridership and the Luzhou and especially the Xinzhuang branches having very low ridership. The Xinzhuang Branch was the second least-used section of the MRT, followed only by the Muzha section of the Wenhu Line.
Growth was very uneven in 2013. The largest gains in ridership were on the newest lines, with the central section of the Xinzhuang Line between Zhongxiao Xinsheng and Daqiaotou growing faster than any other section of the MRT, and Songjiang Nanjing gaining more users than any other station, followed by Xingtian Temple. This was presumably the result of the improved connection to the Zhonghe Line, though some of the increase may also have been caused by people adjusting their travel habits to take advantage of the new line- for example, people may be more willing to take jobs near the Xinzhuang Line that they were before.
The Zhonghe Line saw the second-largest gains after the trunk section of the Xinzhuang Line, presumably from increased frequency and the faster connection to the Xinzhuang Line and east Taipei. However, the increase was less than half that of the Xinzhuang trunk line, suggesting that the Xinzhuang Line gained more from the new connection. The Xinzhuang and Luzhou branches also gained quite a bit of ridership compared to 2012, presumably mostly from people adjusting to the new lines.
The Wenhu Line also saw uneven growth, with the Neihu section growing faster than the system average while the Muzha section losing passengers, especially in its central Taipei section. Even with this decline- which follows a decline last year- the Muzha Line still has much higher ridership than it did before the Neihu extension opened.
Finally, although it doesn't appear on the above chart, the central section of the Danshui Line (that is, from Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall to Shuanglian) also lost ridership. Part of this may have been caused by Zhonghe and Xindian Line passengers switching to the Xinzhuang Line to get to central and eastern Zhongshan District rather than transferring to buses at Zhongshan, Shuanglian or Minquan West Rd. stations, though the decline at NTU Hospital and Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall suggest it may be caused by other factors.
Overall, trends in 2013 were positive: newer, lesser used parts of the MRT gained ridership, which balanced out losses in more heavily used sections. However, ridership remains very uneven, with the Bannan Line connecting to far more destinations than any other line. To even out ridership Taipei should focus on developing destinations near central areas along less heavily used sections of the MRT. For example, developing Minquan West Rd. as a destination would attract more riders from the underused Xinzhuang and Luzhou branches, as well as from the not especially crowded Xinzhuang trunk and northern Danshui Line.
Thursday, January 9, 2014
Illegal Bicycle Parking Near MRT Stations
Usually the biggest annoyance for pedestrians in Taiwan is scooters parked on sidewalks, but according to the Liberty Times bicycles are also becoming an issue. While remembering to take any Taiwanese newspaper's claims with a grain of salt, this reflects a pattern in Taipei City's promotion of cycling, where cyclists are permitted to take space from pedestrians but rarely from cars and scooters (Xinyi Rd. is an exception to this, with the removal of scooter parking providing space for cycling). This discourages walking, the most environmentally friendly form of transport (as well as the safest and healthiest), while leaving drivers with a disproportionate amount of street space. Of course, Taipei's government can't wholly be held responsible for illegal bicycle parking, but the police admission to only targeting illegally parked cyclists near the Gongguan and Technology Building MRT stations shows some culpability. Cycling should definitely be encouraged, but more cycling will require taking space from other modes of transportation- and that mode should be automobiles, not pedestrians.
Friday, October 11, 2013
Plans for Wider Xinsheng S. Rd. Sidewalks
This is old news now, but worth a mention. According to the Liberty Times, Taipei is planning on expanding the sidewalks along the section of Xinsheng S. Rd. between Roosevelt and Xinhai Roads from 3 meters wide to 5 to 8 meters as part of its "Shaded Boulevard Pedestrian Environment Improvement Design Plan" （林蔭大道人行環境改善設計計劃）. Two car lanes will be removed, leaving this section of Xinsheng with three lanes in each direction. New Construction Office Director Chen Der-yih (陳德意) claimed that this will disrupt traffic flow but within "tolerable" levels. Construction is set to take place next year. The new sidewalk space will be used for bicycle lanes and seating areas for adjacent restaurants. Other streets slated for pedestrian improvements are Heping West Rd. Sec. 3 and Roosevelt Rd. Sections 5 and 6, though the former has encountered local opposition.
I'm definitely happy to see Taipei allocate more space to non-driving uses, just because of the environmental, safety and transportation efficiency benefits that discouraging driving brings. That said, I think Taipei's focus on major boulevards is misguided- generally speaking the sidewalks on Taipei's main roads are adequate for the amount of pedestrians they have, though they certainly do need more space for cyclists. This is certainly the case on this part of Xinsheng S. Rd: though not the most spacious sidewalk in Taipei, the west side of the road is never gridlocked and feels very safe, and the east side is even better. Adding cycling paths would be great, and would provide a link between the Gongguan Ubike station and the Xinhai/Xinsheng station, but from the pedestrian's perspective this is already one of the nicer walks in Taipei. Instead of focus on wide streets like Xinsheng, which could be better but are fine as is, I think Taipei should focus first on the areas that actually make walking terrible: medium-width streets like Lishui St., Jingwen St., Jinhua St. and so on that are wide enough for cars to drive fast but have no sidewalks, and intersections that lack crosswalks (like Shida Rd./Heping Rd., Zhongxiao W. Rd./Gongyuan Rd., or Xinsheng S. Rd. and Roosevelt Rd.). In these situations, Taipei blatantly favors driving, refusing in the first case even to provide safe passage for pedestrians, even though the urban environment is far better suited to walking than driving. It's when Taipei addresses these problems that we will know the government is seriously committed to improving the pedestrian environment rather than simply making cosmetic changes.
I'm definitely happy to see Taipei allocate more space to non-driving uses, just because of the environmental, safety and transportation efficiency benefits that discouraging driving brings. That said, I think Taipei's focus on major boulevards is misguided- generally speaking the sidewalks on Taipei's main roads are adequate for the amount of pedestrians they have, though they certainly do need more space for cyclists. This is certainly the case on this part of Xinsheng S. Rd: though not the most spacious sidewalk in Taipei, the west side of the road is never gridlocked and feels very safe, and the east side is even better. Adding cycling paths would be great, and would provide a link between the Gongguan Ubike station and the Xinhai/Xinsheng station, but from the pedestrian's perspective this is already one of the nicer walks in Taipei. Instead of focus on wide streets like Xinsheng, which could be better but are fine as is, I think Taipei should focus first on the areas that actually make walking terrible: medium-width streets like Lishui St., Jingwen St., Jinhua St. and so on that are wide enough for cars to drive fast but have no sidewalks, and intersections that lack crosswalks (like Shida Rd./Heping Rd., Zhongxiao W. Rd./Gongyuan Rd., or Xinsheng S. Rd. and Roosevelt Rd.). In these situations, Taipei blatantly favors driving, refusing in the first case even to provide safe passage for pedestrians, even though the urban environment is far better suited to walking than driving. It's when Taipei addresses these problems that we will know the government is seriously committed to improving the pedestrian environment rather than simply making cosmetic changes.
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
Squeezing Yet More Trains onto the Bannan Line
The United Daily recently had an interesting report about how the MRT has saved time during rush hour on the Bannan Line. Every weekday between 8 and 9 AM the MRT has stationed workers on the Bannan Line platforms at Zhongxiao Xinsheng and Taipei Main whose sole task is closing each train's doors. This might sound wasteful, but the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp. claims it has allowed them to run two more trains during rush hour, permitting 29 trains per hour which can fit 3,000 more people, and reducing headways by fifteen seconds, to 2 minutes and 5 seconds.
Typically, after an MRT train stops, the driver steps out of the cab and only reenters once they see everyone has boarded the train. According to Tan Gwa Gwang, president of the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp., the TRTC determined that this takes 5 seconds. To save this time, the TRTC stationed staff near the driver's cab to watch the monitors showing passengers boarding and exiting the train, so the driver doesn't need to leave the cab. When the warning alarm sounds, they reach into the cab and place their finger on the door closing button. Once the alarm stops and there are no more passengers entering or exiting the train, they press the button and motion to the driver to leave the station.
Last year the TRTC had already saved 10 seconds per train by adding crowd control staff to Zhongxiao Xinsheng and Taipei Main's platforms.
Typically, after an MRT train stops, the driver steps out of the cab and only reenters once they see everyone has boarded the train. According to Tan Gwa Gwang, president of the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp., the TRTC determined that this takes 5 seconds. To save this time, the TRTC stationed staff near the driver's cab to watch the monitors showing passengers boarding and exiting the train, so the driver doesn't need to leave the cab. When the warning alarm sounds, they reach into the cab and place their finger on the door closing button. Once the alarm stops and there are no more passengers entering or exiting the train, they press the button and motion to the driver to leave the station.
Last year the TRTC had already saved 10 seconds per train by adding crowd control staff to Zhongxiao Xinsheng and Taipei Main's platforms.
Sunday, April 14, 2013
Taipei MRT Ridership in 2012
2012's top ten stations are listed below, ranked by the number of times each station was entered and exited.
The most noteworthy change from last year is Xinpu's drop from 5th place to 7th place, presumably because some of the people from Xinzhuang who used to transfer to the MRT there now instead can use the Xinzhuang Line. Banqiao also moved up a place, overtaking Zhongshan. No station opened after 2006 has yet entered the top 10.
The least-used stations in 2012 are as follows:
As should be expected, many Muzha-Neihu line stations are among the bottom ten. The Muzha-Neihu line is lower capacity than the other lines, with no station other than Zhongxiao Fuxing even approaching 20 million entrances and exits every year, but with trains and stations being crowded regardless, so this is to be expected. More disappointing (though not surprising, as I will explain below) is the presence of three stations on the high-capacity Xinzhuang Line.
Below is the ridership of the average station on each line:
Blue: 20,283
Danshui/ Zhonghe/ Xindian: 13,592
Xinzhuang (incl Luzhou): 6,153
Brown: 5,828
And the ridership for separate branches:
Danshui: 14,721
Xindian: 9,660
Zhonghe: 15,665
Xinzhuang (Xinbei section): 4,377
Luzhou: 6,598
The blue line has much denser usage than any other line, while the Xinzhuang Line has the least-dense usage, even less than the lower-capacity Wenhu Line. This confirms what the list of least-used stations suggests: the Xinzhuang Line is very underused compared to other lines. Presumably its ridership will grow a little more as more people try it or move to Xinzhuang with the intention of using it, and as new lines increase the usefulness of the system as a whole. But even if it does grow, this is a very low point to start from.
The Xinzhuang Line passes through very dense areas that should have plenty of demand for an MRT line into Taipei City, so why is it faring so poorly? A major issue is probably its route. Rather than taking a direct path from Xinzhuang and south Sanchong into Taipei, the line makes a long detour north to join the Luzhou Line and enter Taipei under the Taipei Bridge. While this looks elegant on a road map, it forces riders to take a roundabout route to get to most of the rest of the MRT system, especially the blue line. This means that many Xinzhuang residents may find that taking the bus or driving is actually faster than taking the MRT, and that those who do choose to take it will be forced to spend more time in transit. If the Xinzhuang Line had been built so that it crossed into Taipei under the Zhongxiao Bridge or the Zhongxing Bridge we would certainly see much greater ridership on the Xinzhuang Line, and therefore in the MRT system as a whole. On the other hand, the Luzhou Branch has a much more direct route into Taipei, but also has low ridership compared to other branch lines, so perhaps the scooter-oriented nature of urban development west of the Danshui River is to blame.
| Station | Line | Exits+Entrances |
|---|---|---|
| Taipei Main Station | Red, Blue | 114,659,000 |
| Taipei City Hall | Blue | 45,723,000 |
| Ximen | Blue, Xiaonanmen | 41,935,000 |
| Zhongxiao Fuxing | Blue, Brown | 37,751,000 |
| Zhongxiao Dunhua | Blue | 28,972,000 |
| Danshui | Red | 27,884,000 |
| Xinpu | Blue | 26,980,000 |
| Jiantan | Red | 25,293,000 |
| Banqiao | Blue | 24,531,000 |
| Zhongshan | Red | 22,971,000 |
The most noteworthy change from last year is Xinpu's drop from 5th place to 7th place, presumably because some of the people from Xinzhuang who used to transfer to the MRT there now instead can use the Xinzhuang Line. Banqiao also moved up a place, overtaking Zhongshan. No station opened after 2006 has yet entered the top 10.
The least-used stations in 2012 are as follows:
| Station | Line | Exits+Entrances |
|---|---|---|
| Nangang Software Park | Brown | 687,000 |
| Xiaobitan | Xiaobitan | 1,217,000 |
| Wanfang Community | Brown | 1,372,000 |
| Xianse Temple | Orange | 1,778,000 |
| Sanchong | Orange | 1,809,000 |
| Dahu Park | Brown | 1,842,000 |
| Zhongyi | Red | 2,047,000 |
| Xinhai | Brown | 2,065,000 |
| Fuxinggang | Red | 2,462,000 |
| Touqianzhuang | Orange | 2,539,000 |
As should be expected, many Muzha-Neihu line stations are among the bottom ten. The Muzha-Neihu line is lower capacity than the other lines, with no station other than Zhongxiao Fuxing even approaching 20 million entrances and exits every year, but with trains and stations being crowded regardless, so this is to be expected. More disappointing (though not surprising, as I will explain below) is the presence of three stations on the high-capacity Xinzhuang Line.
Below is the ridership of the average station on each line:
Blue: 20,283
Danshui/ Zhonghe/ Xindian: 13,592
Xinzhuang (incl Luzhou): 6,153
Brown: 5,828
And the ridership for separate branches:
Danshui: 14,721
Xindian: 9,660
Zhonghe: 15,665
Xinzhuang (Xinbei section): 4,377
Luzhou: 6,598
The blue line has much denser usage than any other line, while the Xinzhuang Line has the least-dense usage, even less than the lower-capacity Wenhu Line. This confirms what the list of least-used stations suggests: the Xinzhuang Line is very underused compared to other lines. Presumably its ridership will grow a little more as more people try it or move to Xinzhuang with the intention of using it, and as new lines increase the usefulness of the system as a whole. But even if it does grow, this is a very low point to start from.
The Xinzhuang Line passes through very dense areas that should have plenty of demand for an MRT line into Taipei City, so why is it faring so poorly? A major issue is probably its route. Rather than taking a direct path from Xinzhuang and south Sanchong into Taipei, the line makes a long detour north to join the Luzhou Line and enter Taipei under the Taipei Bridge. While this looks elegant on a road map, it forces riders to take a roundabout route to get to most of the rest of the MRT system, especially the blue line. This means that many Xinzhuang residents may find that taking the bus or driving is actually faster than taking the MRT, and that those who do choose to take it will be forced to spend more time in transit. If the Xinzhuang Line had been built so that it crossed into Taipei under the Zhongxiao Bridge or the Zhongxing Bridge we would certainly see much greater ridership on the Xinzhuang Line, and therefore in the MRT system as a whole. On the other hand, the Luzhou Branch has a much more direct route into Taipei, but also has low ridership compared to other branch lines, so perhaps the scooter-oriented nature of urban development west of the Danshui River is to blame.
Friday, October 5, 2012
New Trains on the Danshui-Xindian Line
Tomorrow Taipei's MRT will put two of its new C381 trains into service on the Xindian-Danshui Line. Aside from some alterations to their exteriors and interiors (LCD screens, bike racks, different pole design), the trains are functionally the same as those currently in use. I thought it interesting however that their per-railcar cost is about the same as what San Fransisco's BART and New York's MTA pay for their new trains, at NT$66 million (US$2.2 million) per car. However, Taipei's railcars are a bit larger and are connected by passageways, which I believe are more expensive to build.
Thursday, October 4, 2012
First Impressions of the Zhonghe-Xinlu Line
The Taipei
MRT has declared the connection between the Zhonghe Line and Xinlu Line a
success, with transfers down 20% at Taipei Main and up 70% and 500% at Zhongxiao
Xinsheng and Guting, respectively, on the first half-day of weekday operation. After taking the new MRT connection several
times this past week I want to add a few of my own observations.
Most notable for those who use the Zhonghe Line is that trains between Nanshijiao and Guting are far less crowded, and the wait is
never long. This is a result of doubling
the number of trains on the Zhonghe Line.
Currently more
people appear to get off northbound trains at Guting than stay on or get on, suggesting
that there are still more people headed for stations on the Danshui Line than
stations on the Xinlu Line or eastern section of the Bannan Line. This in turn suggests that the number of
people inconvenienced by the transfer at Guting outweighs the number of people
who benefit from faster access to East Taipei.
However, I think this is outweighed by the benefits of less crowding and
shorter wait times. Also, as time goes
on more and more people will probably adjust their commutes to take advantage of the faster connection.
Third,
although the transfer at Guting isn’t timed (which is disappointing),
about half the time Xindian Line and Zhonghe Line trains do arrive roughly at the
same time, and when they do they give passengers plenty of time to
transfer. Props to the MRT for good
customer service.
Transferring
at Zhongxiao Xinsheng is much easier than at Taipei Main; in fact I would say
it is the second-easiest transfer in the whole MRT system after Guting. It also isn’t as crowded as Taipei Main, and
despite fears about overcrowding the Bannan Line platforms don’t feel dangerous
despite being narrower than the Xinlu Line platforms. However, because the connection between the two platforms takes passengers to the northern end of the Xinlu Line, passengers transferring to southbound Xinlu Line trains tend to crowd
into the back end of the train, while the front is almost empty.
For those
headed to east Taipei, I found that the new connection takes about 5 to 6
minutes from Guting to Zhongxiao Xinsheng, compared to about 12 to 13 minutes
before. This means that even Xindian
Line passengers will find transferring at both Guting and Zhongxiao Xinsheng
faster than just transferring at Taipei Main.
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Shifting Transfers from Taipei Main to Zhongxiao Xinsheng
A couple interesting tidbits related to the opening of Dongmen Station, slated for this coming Sunday (September 30th):
For those who don't know, one of the most cited benefits of separating the Zhonghe Line from the Danshui Line and merging it with the Xinzhuang Line is that it will relieve crowding in Taipei Main Station by making it possible for people traveling between the Zhonghe Line and eastern Taipei to transfer at Zhongxiao Xinsheng. According to the Taipei MRT Corporation, currently on the average day 257,000 transfers occur at Taipei Main Station, and 77,000 at Zhongxiao Xinsheng. With the opening of the Zhonghe-Xinzhuang connection, the number of transfers at Taipei Main will decrease by 53,000 to 204,000, and increase at Zhongxiao Xinsheng to 129,000. Other media reports have suggested a more modest (and less specific) shift of somewhere between 20 and 30,000 transfers, which seems low to me given that transferring at Zhongxiao Xinsheng will be faster for everyone traveling between eastern Taipei and anywhere south of Guting, on both the Xindian and the Zhonghe Lines. I do wonder however if the numbers take into account the likely increase in ridership that will result from faster trips and increased frequency on the Zhonghe Line, which should lead to a lot of new MRT passengers transferring at Zhongxiao Xinsheng, not just people who used to transfer at Taipei Main.
Another service change which occurred earlier this month is that the headway between trains on the Bannan Line during peak hours decreased from 2 minutes 15 seconds to 2 minutes 5 seconds. Not huge, but anything that decreases crowding on that line is a good idea, and frankly overdue. I wonder if they can up frequency any higher.
For those who don't know, one of the most cited benefits of separating the Zhonghe Line from the Danshui Line and merging it with the Xinzhuang Line is that it will relieve crowding in Taipei Main Station by making it possible for people traveling between the Zhonghe Line and eastern Taipei to transfer at Zhongxiao Xinsheng. According to the Taipei MRT Corporation, currently on the average day 257,000 transfers occur at Taipei Main Station, and 77,000 at Zhongxiao Xinsheng. With the opening of the Zhonghe-Xinzhuang connection, the number of transfers at Taipei Main will decrease by 53,000 to 204,000, and increase at Zhongxiao Xinsheng to 129,000. Other media reports have suggested a more modest (and less specific) shift of somewhere between 20 and 30,000 transfers, which seems low to me given that transferring at Zhongxiao Xinsheng will be faster for everyone traveling between eastern Taipei and anywhere south of Guting, on both the Xindian and the Zhonghe Lines. I do wonder however if the numbers take into account the likely increase in ridership that will result from faster trips and increased frequency on the Zhonghe Line, which should lead to a lot of new MRT passengers transferring at Zhongxiao Xinsheng, not just people who used to transfer at Taipei Main.
Another service change which occurred earlier this month is that the headway between trains on the Bannan Line during peak hours decreased from 2 minutes 15 seconds to 2 minutes 5 seconds. Not huge, but anything that decreases crowding on that line is a good idea, and frankly overdue. I wonder if they can up frequency any higher.
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Taipei MRT's Most and Least Popular Stations
Below are the top ten busiest stations in the
Taipei MRT in 2011, according to the number of times each station was entered
and exited.
1. Taipei Main Station Bannan, Danshui 113,478,000
2. Taipei City Hall Bannan 43,101,000
3. Ximen Bannan,
Xiaonanmen 42,980,000
4. Zhongxiao Fuxing Bannan, Wenhu 37,358,000
5. Xinpu Bannan 29,763,000
6. Zhongxiao Dunhua Bannan 26,897,000
7. Danshui Danshui 26,564,000
8. Jiantan Danshui 25,753,000
9. Zhongshan Danshui 22,603,000
10. Banqiao Bannan 21,660,000
The top four stations aren’t particularly
surprising, given that they are either major transit hubs (Main Station, City
Hall), commercial areas (City Hall, Ximen, Zhongxiao Fuxing) or job centers
(Main Station, City Hall). More
surprising is the popularity of Xinpu, located in an area with no destinations
that I know of. Anyone who’s ridden the
Bannan Line into Banqiao will have noticed that the train empties out at Xinpu;
what’s surprising is that this translates into more boardings and exits than in
stations like Danshui or Zhongxiao Dunhua that are next to major
destinations. The only explanation I can
think of is that Xinpu is next to Provincial Highway 64, linking it to western
Zhonghe and Xinzhuang, making it a logical transfer point for bus riders from
those areas headed towards central Taipei.
This suggests that MRT lines in Xinzhuang and western Zhonghe areas
should get high ridership, though the Xinzhuang Line so far has been pretty
disappointing.
Everything else on this list isn’t too
surprising, though I didn’t expect Danshui and especially Jiantan to be less
popular. I would be curious to see how
much traffic through these stations, and in fact through all stations in the
top 10, consists of bus transfers- as popular as both are as leisure destinations
I suspect a large portion of their popularity is from transfers.
Also to be expected is the preponderance of
Bannan Line stations, given how many major destinations the Bannan Line passes
and that it is the only line to connect with every other line. Even more crucially, it is the only high-capacity
line in Eastern Taipei, and the only line to connect Eastern Taipei with very
high-population areas in the west.
The Wenhu Line, with much lower capacity than
the other MRT lines, unsurprisingly only has one station in the top ten, the
one it shares with the Bannan Line. The
absence of the Zhonghe and Xindian branches of the Danshui Line and the Luzhou
Line is unsurprising as well, given that those lines all run half as frequently
as the Danshui and Bannan lines.
Below are the least-used stations in the
Taipei MRT:
89. Nangang Software Park Wenhu 621,000
88. Xiaobitan Xiaobitan 1,261,000
87. Wanfang Community Wenhu 1,384,000
86. Dahu Park Wenhu 1,730,000
85. Xinhai Wenhu 2,036,000
84. Zhongyi Danshui 2,104,000
83. Fuxinggang Danshui 2,327,000
82. Linguang Wenhu 2,589,000
81. Muzha Wenhu 2,882,000
80. Wende Wenhu 3,013,000
Again, none of these are very surprising:
most of these stations are on the medium-capacity Wenhu Line, and most of them
are located on the most distant parts of the MRT system. Many of them are close to other, more popular
stations (Nangang Software Park, Wanfang Community), or are in areas that are
only partially developed (Nangang Software Park, both Danshui Line stations).
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