Kaohsiung recently rescinded fares on its transit system for a limited time in order to combat air pollution.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
Showing posts with label Kaohsiung. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kaohsiung. Show all posts
Saturday, December 2, 2017
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Kaohsiung MRT's Most and Least Popular Stations
Below is a list of the six most popular KMRT stations in 2011, along with the most popular station on the orange line:
And the five least popular:
As nearly everyone familiar with the KMRT might have guessed, these numbers are far below those for Taipei's MRT. The most popular station has only middling usage by Taipei's standards, and only one station in Taipei's MRT would make it onto the list of Kaohsiung's least-used stations.
Rather than go into why Kaohsiung's MRT has underperformed- for the record I think the reason is that the city is too car/ scooter friendly, and is not hemmed in by mountains like Taipei and so can sprawl more- I'd like to look at what this says about the system's design. Most obviously, the three least-used stations are on the northern end of the red line, even though the red line gets heavier usage overall than the orange line. Moreover, this section of the red line parallels the TRA's main line. The TRA could have provided comparable rapid transit service to this area by adding stations and frequency, and at most by adding a third track, which presumably would have been far cheaper than extending the two-tracked KMRT. The KMRT could have had its terminus at the Nanzih TRA station, where a reasonably easy transfer could have been designed. The lower construction costs would have cut down on the depreciation the KMRT is now paying without significantly effecting its income.
Second, these numbers suggest that the orange line's alignment was poorly chosen. Aside from stations that provide transfers to other mass transit (Kaohsiung Train Station and Zuoying) and Kaohsiung Arena (whose popularity I can't explain), the most popular stations are Central Park and Sanduo, both of which have nearly a million more yearly passengers than Formosa Boulevard. I'm not very familiar with Kaohsiung, but it is also my impression that this area is Kaohsiung's commercial center, hosting several large malls and commercial districts. The orange line might have gotten more ridership if it crossed the red line at one of these stations, since it would connect passengers directly to a popular destination rather than forcing them to transfer at Formosa Boulevard. It also would have had less overlap with the TRA's Kaohsiung-Pingdong line, thereby doing more to expand rail transit coverage in Kaohsiung. Even though this would have meant that passengers traveling between the more popular stations on the red line's northern half and the areas served by the orange line would have a longer trip, these areas would have been almost as easily served by the Kaohsiung-Pingdong Line, which is less than a kilometer away from the orange line for its entire length. Even without the nearby rail line, I suspect a direct trip to somewhere, longer trip to other places type of alignment would have worked better than no direct trip to any major destination alignment the KMRT currently has.
| Station | Line | Exits+Entrances |
|---|---|---|
| Kaohsiung Train Station | Red | 9,759,000 |
| Zuoying | Red | 7,720,000 |
| Kaohsiung Arena | Red | 7,348,000 |
| Sanduo Commercial Dist. | Red | 6,898,000 |
| Central Park | Red | 6,040,000 |
| Formosa Boulevard | Red/Orange | 4,056,000 | (Xiziwan | Orange | 2,250,000) |
And the five least popular:
| Station | Line | Exits+Entrances |
|---|---|---|
| Qingpu | Red | 510,000 |
| Qiaotou Sugar Refinery | Red | 586,000 |
| Houjing | Red | 759,000 |
| Dadong | Orange | 829,000 |
| Fengshan J.H.S. | Orange | 943,000 |
As nearly everyone familiar with the KMRT might have guessed, these numbers are far below those for Taipei's MRT. The most popular station has only middling usage by Taipei's standards, and only one station in Taipei's MRT would make it onto the list of Kaohsiung's least-used stations.
Rather than go into why Kaohsiung's MRT has underperformed- for the record I think the reason is that the city is too car/ scooter friendly, and is not hemmed in by mountains like Taipei and so can sprawl more- I'd like to look at what this says about the system's design. Most obviously, the three least-used stations are on the northern end of the red line, even though the red line gets heavier usage overall than the orange line. Moreover, this section of the red line parallels the TRA's main line. The TRA could have provided comparable rapid transit service to this area by adding stations and frequency, and at most by adding a third track, which presumably would have been far cheaper than extending the two-tracked KMRT. The KMRT could have had its terminus at the Nanzih TRA station, where a reasonably easy transfer could have been designed. The lower construction costs would have cut down on the depreciation the KMRT is now paying without significantly effecting its income.
Second, these numbers suggest that the orange line's alignment was poorly chosen. Aside from stations that provide transfers to other mass transit (Kaohsiung Train Station and Zuoying) and Kaohsiung Arena (whose popularity I can't explain), the most popular stations are Central Park and Sanduo, both of which have nearly a million more yearly passengers than Formosa Boulevard. I'm not very familiar with Kaohsiung, but it is also my impression that this area is Kaohsiung's commercial center, hosting several large malls and commercial districts. The orange line might have gotten more ridership if it crossed the red line at one of these stations, since it would connect passengers directly to a popular destination rather than forcing them to transfer at Formosa Boulevard. It also would have had less overlap with the TRA's Kaohsiung-Pingdong line, thereby doing more to expand rail transit coverage in Kaohsiung. Even though this would have meant that passengers traveling between the more popular stations on the red line's northern half and the areas served by the orange line would have a longer trip, these areas would have been almost as easily served by the Kaohsiung-Pingdong Line, which is less than a kilometer away from the orange line for its entire length. Even without the nearby rail line, I suspect a direct trip to somewhere, longer trip to other places type of alignment would have worked better than no direct trip to any major destination alignment the KMRT currently has.
Monday, October 8, 2012
Kaohsiung City Councilor Spreads Mass Transit Non-Sequitors
Kaohsiung is planning a light rail line to complement its high-capacity MRT system. For those who don't know, light rail usually refers to any urban rail system that runs on ground level. Light rail systems are often also called trams or streetcars. Kaohsiung's would form a loop around the center of the city.
I think there are legitimate questions to be asked about what direction Kaohsiung should go in with its mass transit system, and whether or not it should build this light rail line. But Kaohsiung City Councilor Xiao Yongda (蕭永達), the lone city councilor to oppose the light rail line, did not address these issues. Instead he told made unsupported arguments such as:
-All developed cities with light rail are in cold climates, so people are unable to ride scooters like in Kaohsiung. This is outright false: San Fransisco, Pheonix, Hong Kong, and numerous other cities in the US and southern Europe all have warm climates and light rail. Light rail cars can be air-conditioned, which would be far more comfortable in summer than driving a scooter. Light rail can also be more comfortable during typhoons.
-Light rail would lose money like the rest of the MRT system. Roads also lose money but no one seems to make a big deal about that.
-Level crossings with roads will lead to more accidents. What leads to accidents in Taiwan is driving. I very much doubt that other cities which have extensive light rail/ tram systems have worse traffic safety records than Kaohsiung.
-Kaohsiung's "DNA" is different. This isn't even really an argument, just an assertion. Xiao fails to explain what about Kaohsiung is so different that a form of transportation used all over Europe, Asia and America would fail in Kaohsiung.
I think there are legitimate questions to be asked about what direction Kaohsiung should go in with its mass transit system, and whether or not it should build this light rail line. But Kaohsiung City Councilor Xiao Yongda (蕭永達), the lone city councilor to oppose the light rail line, did not address these issues. Instead he told made unsupported arguments such as:
-All developed cities with light rail are in cold climates, so people are unable to ride scooters like in Kaohsiung. This is outright false: San Fransisco, Pheonix, Hong Kong, and numerous other cities in the US and southern Europe all have warm climates and light rail. Light rail cars can be air-conditioned, which would be far more comfortable in summer than driving a scooter. Light rail can also be more comfortable during typhoons.
-Light rail would lose money like the rest of the MRT system. Roads also lose money but no one seems to make a big deal about that.
-Level crossings with roads will lead to more accidents. What leads to accidents in Taiwan is driving. I very much doubt that other cities which have extensive light rail/ tram systems have worse traffic safety records than Kaohsiung.
-Kaohsiung's "DNA" is different. This isn't even really an argument, just an assertion. Xiao fails to explain what about Kaohsiung is so different that a form of transportation used all over Europe, Asia and America would fail in Kaohsiung.
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