4/20/2009

Taipei Has Public Bike Transport





I noticed Taipei has a public bike system up and running around Taipei 101. We swipe our Go-cards and can then take a bike (see above pic). I'm not sure about the time limit. We can return them to one of several posts in the vicinity (there's a map). The area seems better spaced than a lot of Taiwan's older districts, so it should be pretty easy / safe for non-experienced riders to give it a go.

I've often wondered about Taiwan's bike laws - is it legal to ride on the sidewalks? The bikes do not come with helmets, so be careful. The city is now enforcing helmet laws. I think it's NT$600 a pop.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm gald to see the new article titled about "Public Bike Transport" on your blog. I do believe that it would bring a lot of convenience to those who have a liking for biking. It can also help us save huge bucks to buy. On one hand, I remember what you told me that you treated yourslef buying a fancy bicycle. Do you still take any advantage by riding it every holiday? Is it in good using condition? Or you have changed new one? I just wonder how "Public Bike Transport" prevents itself from the case happened if any tenant would never return the bicycle back. How is the same transport in your home town? May be you would like to share much more with me.

Anonymous said...

The only other public bicycle sharing I can think of is the Stanford University campus in Palo Alto, CA. the bicycles are not fancy but the system works fine. Worried being stolen? Do you still remember the stories of the abandoned bicycles piling up in the stations all over Japan?
Cho-San

Patrick Cowsill said...

Yeah, but it's an interesting point. What if you do want to make off with one of these bikes? What's the city going to do? Track you to your Go card? We don't give our names when we buy them. A thief could simply run his / her card down to next to zero, sign out a bike and chuck the card.

Anonymous said...

The ideal society by Confucius is nobody locks doors at nighttime and things are safe to leave outdoor, no worry being picked up. It is obvious that the society is premature to have the program if people are stealing them. BTW, in Stanford, students just pick up the available ones and ride, and then leave in any spot when finished.
ChoSan
I am stranger to the island after long absent. It is a strange world that government has the bicycle-sharing program yet do not supply safety helmet. Are they expecting all the sharers to carry their own helmets when riding subway to city?

Patrick Cowsill said...

The government has implemented the helmet law. First they did so for scooters and motorbikes, and they really enforced (in Taipei that is). Now, you won't see anyone without them (in Taipei that is). That is why when they said they would start enforcing the helmet law for bikes a few months ago, everyone took them seriously.

I was thinking it was either hypocritical or just stupid for the Taipei government to offer these bikes without helmets. I was worried the whole program was just for show to "foreigners" and not actually meant for Taiwanese to use. It's in front of Taipei 101 and the International Trade Center after all.

Another thing that I find odd is that the bikes launches are up on the sidewalk. But it's not legal to ride on the sidewalks, or so I've been told.

"The ideal society by Confucius is nobody locks doors at nighttime and things are safe to leave outdoor, no worry being picked up." When Chiang Kai-shek arrived in Taiwan, his soldiers were on a 70-30 pay policy. 70% of their pay was to come from scrounging (stealing) from the locals and 30% was from Chiang's coffers. One thing the soldiers scrounged were bicycles. Often they couldn't ride them, so they just carried them on their backs. I imagine that people didn't have to lock their doors prior to 1945 - that was when the Japanese were running things.

Anonymous said...

I am not a Christian but being told that church’s doors are never closed since it is the way to Heaven. Asked a priest with the question in New York City many years ago, he shouted to me, “Are you stupid? You should know it is New York City here, everybody locks door, including the churches.” I am sure that Confucius does not suite to live there.
ChoSan

Anonymous said...

Hey, Pat, where is the new listing of the month?
ChoSan

Patrick Cowsill said...

Chosan,

I've got one in mind; it'll be up in the next few days. Sorry, I've been really busy. Have my thesis defense coming up.

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