DPP’s Puma Shen proposes Taipei commuting policies

• By Hollie Younger / Staff writer, with CNA

• • Add TT as Preferred Source

  • 

  • 

  • 

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator and Taipei mayoral candidate Puma Shen (沈伯洋) yesterday laid out proposed policies to encourage four forms of environmentally friendly commuting in Taipei: walking, taking buses, riding bicycles and using shared electric scooters.

The policies would prioritize commuter safety and convenience, and include proposals to add shared electric scooters to the TPass program and provide 30 minutes for free on the electric YouBike 2.0E during commuter hours, he said at a news conference at the DPP headquarters.

Shen said he would improve pedestrian safety by establishing school commuter zones around all of Taipei’s more than 150 elementary schools within eight years.

Democratic Progressive Party Legislator and Taipei mayoral candidate Puma Shen speaks at a news conference in Taipei yesterday.

Photo: Gan Meng-lin, Taipei Times

Official data showed that the peak period for traffic deaths and injuries in Taipei in 2024 was between 7am and 9am, when students are traveling to school, he said.

The central government recommends defining an area within 150m of a school as a school commuting zone, but the guidelines are advisory and Taipei has only established four this year, he said.

Secondly, Shen said he would enact bus safety reforms, focused on subsidizing bus drivers’ salaries, redesigning driver seats, establishing driver rest stations at major turnaround points and reorganizing bus networks by district.

Thirdly, Shen said he would work to connect, maintain and supplement Taipei’s bicycle network to promote bicycle riding.

After YouBike resumed making the first 30 minutes of rides free, the number of rides increased by 55 percent, surpassing 400 million rides, he said.

Shen proposed providing more crossings over rivers and embankments, including a bicycle bridge across the Keelung River connecting Yingfeng Riverside Park (迎風河濱公園) and Gangqian (港墘) in Neihu District (?湖) to link the riverside cycle route to Neihu Technology Park.

Shen said he would also make the first 30 minutes of YouBike 2.0E electric-assist bicycle rides free during commuter hours and add more bikes at hotspots, while including electric scooters in the TPass program.