TAIPEI (TVBS News) — According to media sources, the Taipei City government plans to reintroduce free rides for the first 30 minutes on YouBike, a public bicycle-sharing system. This policy was canceled in 2015 by then-Mayor Ko Wen-je.
The government intends to implement the policy first for students, but Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng has opposed the proposal.
Lin has argued that Taipei City must first address the bike shortage issue and enhance user safety.
Although there are 13,000 YouBikes and 1,200 rental stations in Taipei, the average number of daily renters is 120,000.
The commissioner of the Department of Transportation, Hsieh Ming-hong, has indicated that the proposal is still under review, and no definite plans have been established.
During the mayoral campaign, Mayor Chiang Wan-an proposed to execute this policy.
Former Mayor Ko Wen-je and then-Deputy Mayor Huang Shan-shan have previously criticized the idea as impractical.