Taiwan Today

Taiwan is tackling climate change via strategies ranging from improving public transport systems to sparking the use of electric vehicles.

Life is becoming easier and greener for citizens of southern Taiwan’s Chiayi City. Last year, all of its buses received electric vehicle upgrades, and the total length of routes is set to increase from 36 kilometers in 2019 to 88 km by the end of 2021. In addition, the timetable is more convenient, with services coming at intervals of 15 to 30 minutes, compared with one to two hours previously.

Chang Chiung-hsi (張瓊璽‬), chief of the Transportation Administration Section under the local government’s Transportation Department, said city buses were once rarely seen in Chiayi. “But now they’re part and parcel of daily life and proving popular with residents,” she added, citing rising ridership from 80,000 in 2017 to 260,000 last year.

Chiayi is one of Taiwan’s model municipal citizens when it comes to developing green transportation. Lin Chi-kuo (林繼國), director general of the Institute of Transportation at the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC), said optimizing existing systems and promoting electric vehicles are twin strategies for cutting carbon emissions. “It’s essential to have viable public transportation so as to persuade the people to reduce reliance on cars and motorbikes.”

Main Offender

Such vehicles, according to Lin, are a major source of air pollution and greenhouse gases. A report released by the MOTC in 2018 revealed that road transportation accounts for 95.5 percent of emissions produced by the sector overall. This compares with 2.2 percent for rail, 1.5 percent for watercourses and 0.8 percent for aviation. A further breakdown indicates that 63.8 percent of road emissions are from small passenger cars and motorbikes. In total, the transportation sector is responsible for 12.7 percent of emissions produced in Taiwan.

Lin believes the numbers indicate an underlying need for improvement, especially in the area of rail transportation. “Taiwan’s investment in transportation infrastructure tends to center on highways. But over the past decade, there’s been a rethink of sorts.”

One high-profile example is the expansion of Taiwan High Speed Rail (THSR). Since 2017, the government has made it a top priority to extend the 350-km THSR line running along the heavily populated west of the country from Taipei City in the north to Kaohsiung City in the south. Upgrading the country’s metros and standard rail services are also high on the agenda. Four of Taiwan’s six special municipalities have at least one mass rapid transit line in operation, and these are complemented by light-rail systems in Kaohsiung and New Taipei City.

Green Express

Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA), which operates the country’s 130-year-old network, is playing its part in championing the green transportation cause. To woo passengers traveling short distances via motorways, the MOTC-overseen agency is constructing additional stations on busier routes, as well as scheduling more services to meet heightened demand. Since the early 2000s, nearly 40 such stations have been launched, with more in the pipeline.

TRA is also encouraging passengers to think green by making Taiwan’s beloved pastime cycling part of the daily commute. In 2009, the agency started offering dedicated spaces for bikes. The total number of spots on TRA trains has steadily grown to 694 and is projected to reach 1,318 by 2023.

TRA chalked up a record ridership of 236 million in 2019. The agency forecasts even healthier figures going forward on the back of an NT$99.7 billion (US$3.56 billion), four-year investment in replacing half of its 2,595 carriages by 2024. Feng Hui-sheng (馮輝昇), deputy director-general of the TRA, said this unprecedented renewal of rolling stock is a boon for green transportation. “The new cars are energy efficient and will further enhance the credentials of the agency as an environmentally conscious service provider.”

As the majority of TRA lines are double track, the agency is burning the midnight oil in ensuring all remaining single-track sections are upgraded posthaste. Special attention is focused on the TRA lines winding along the East Rift Valley in the eastern Taiwan counties of Hualien and Taitung.

Often described as the country’s most scenic rail journey, the lines offer unparalleled views of rugged coastal mountain ranges, lush vegetation and rural hamlets. Tickets for the 160-km journey must be booked weeks in advance, forcing locals to take buses, cars or scooters to get from A to B. Double-tracking the electrified lines by 2030 will expand access, reduce road transportation and add 17,000 rides annually.

Electric Dreams

Going electric is the trend for motor vehicles, too. The sector is powering ahead courtesy of MOTC subsidies for various electric vehicle (EV) purchases, in particular buses. Operators qualify for payments of up to NT$10 million (US$357,000) per EV. Currently, 560 of Taiwan’s 11,000 city buses are electric, with the ambitious goal of a complete fleet replacement set for 2030.

The government’s green largesse is largely responsible for the surging popularity of electric scooters (e-scooters) in Taiwan, as is its commitment to supporting the development of an increasingly friendly charging environment. More than 3 percent of scooters zipping about Taiwan’s roads are powered by electricity, according to the MOTC.

E-scooters are not the only EVs targeted for promotion. The purchase and use of small cars is encouraged via various tax incentives. One example is the 30 percent commodity tax, which is waived for purchases under NT$1.4 million (US$50,000), with any sum in excess taxable at 15 percent. The initiative will end in December, but the plans are under consideration for an extension. This is expected to take the number of small cars running on electricity in Taiwan beyond the current 10,000 out of a total 7 million vehicles—a significant improvement from 1,213 in 2018.

Complete Commitment

Taiwan’s public and private sectors are on the same page when it comes to green transportation. Recent examples include Taoyuan City-based China Motor Corp. developing electric vans for use as mail delivery vehicles starting in 2018, as well as state-backed Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) cooperating with homegrown outfits in manufacturing buses using indigenously produced components under the auspices of the ITRI Electric Vehicle Promotion Office established last year.

The ITRI unit was one of the main movers and shakers behind the launch of the Taiwan Electric Vehicle Power Charging Technology Promotion Alliance in September 2020. Tasked with tackling one of the main roadblocks to the uptake of EVs, the alliance comprises government agencies such as the MOTC and the Cabinet-level Environmental Protection Administration, as well as industry associations, major auto companies and charging station operators.

With various EV manufacturers operating standalone charging facilities for respective customers, the ITRI-led alliance faces a stiff challenge in coordinating member efforts to construct standardized rapid-charging stations around Taiwan. Larry Chang (張念慈), business director of the ITRI unit, sees the move as crucial in boosting the use of small car EVs. “Amid growing global concern over climate change, charging stations will replace gas stations at a rapid pace,” he said, adding that the latter could be a thing of the past in a few decades.

Another way of fast-tracking green transportation is the integration of smart technology. Director General Lin said significant amounts of energy can be saved, even when systems achieve a basic level of proficiency. He singled out for praise Taiwan’s first smart bus stops in Taipei. Constantly displaying waiting times between services, the innovative system has been upgraded to enable residents to track buses in real time using an app designed for mobile devices.

Silky Smooth

Another part of the government’s green transportation promotion efforts is streamlined payment systems such as EasyCard. First employed on Taipei’s metro system and city buses in 2002, and later for the TRA network, the smart card is widely seen as playing a key role in convincing the public to swap congested roads and pollution for stress-free travel with handsome eco-friendly paydays.

Equally effective in the green influencing stakes is the MeN Go Card. Developed by the MOTC’s Institute of Transportation, the system has been utilized to great effect in Kaohsiung since 2018. It is used for bicycle-sharing, city bus, ferry, light-rail, metro and taxi services, and has proven popular with residents.

Over the past three years, the institute has harnessed the power of artificial intelligence (AI) for four projects improving traffic efficiency and safety. One, initiated two years ago in the central Taiwan city of Taichung, uses AI cameras to capture images of vehicle flows. The data serves as the basis for adjustments and enhancement to traffic light sequencing. Travel times on major roads in the assessed area are down by 10 percent during rush hour on weekdays, significantly reducing emissions.

“Although there’s a long way to go, ongoing efforts helped the country realize the goal of cutting transportation sector greenhouse gas emissions by 2 percent at year-end 2020, compared with 2005 levels,” Lin said. The goal, achieved ahead of schedule, saw a sectorwide reduction of 2.61 percent by 2019. “That’s a good response to global warming, an issue a responsible member of the international community like Taiwan should address,” he added. 

Write to Oscar Chung at mhchung@mofa.gov.tw