Ridership on the TRA dropped 8% in 2016 compared to 2015. This is massive and, given that most of that ridership probably went to driving and buses, a bad sign for Taiwan's air quality, traffic congestion, and safety, to say nothing of global warming. Most of the drop occurred on express trains.
It is difficult to say why this happened. The Legislative Yuan report cited by the Taipei Times attributes it to inefficiency making the TRA uncompetitive, citing in particular staff shortages. I haven't noticed any deterioration in service over the past couple of years so I am suspicious of this reasoning. Moreover, competitiveness is a two-sided coin- if the central government invests in making driving more competitive but ignores the TRA, people will start driving. I can't help but suspect that continued freeway expansion is the main culprit.
This is yet more evidence that TRA is the most neglected part of Taiwan's rail system. This is a mistake, as the TRA is the best option for efficient regional rail (e.g. Taipei-Keelung, Taichung-Changhua, Kaohsiung-Pingdong, etc.), and can provide good service to towns that otherwise aren't large enough to justify a metro line.
Article: http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2017/12/10/2003683742
Saturday, December 16, 2017
Saturday, December 2, 2017
Kaohsiung's Free Transit
Kaohsiung recently rescinded fares on its transit system for a limited time in order to combat air pollution. In the first day of the program ridership increased 10%- not a small increase compared to total ridership, but minuscule when considering how underused mass transit was in Kaohsiung to begin with.
This policy reflects the central problem with Taiwan's transportation planning: it tries to solve problems caused by too much driving without doing anything to discourage driving. While 10% more ridership is not bad in purely comparative terms, it barely amounts to several percents of Kaohsiung's drivers. Cost simply isn't the main reason Kaohsiungers don't take transit; speed and comfort (specifically distance from stations, speed of buses, quality of sidewalks, etc.) are also important. Many of these improvements can't be accomplished without inconveniencing drivers- but it is clear that is unthinkable to Taiwan's politicians. Taiwan will be unable to resolve its energy, environmental, land management, and safety issues until politicians- and people- change this attitude.
Relevant article:
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2017/12/02/2003683302
This policy reflects the central problem with Taiwan's transportation planning: it tries to solve problems caused by too much driving without doing anything to discourage driving. While 10% more ridership is not bad in purely comparative terms, it barely amounts to several percents of Kaohsiung's drivers. Cost simply isn't the main reason Kaohsiungers don't take transit; speed and comfort (specifically distance from stations, speed of buses, quality of sidewalks, etc.) are also important. Many of these improvements can't be accomplished without inconveniencing drivers- but it is clear that is unthinkable to Taiwan's politicians. Taiwan will be unable to resolve its energy, environmental, land management, and safety issues until politicians- and people- change this attitude.
Relevant article:
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2017/12/02/2003683302
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