By Liana As Taiwan’s government-sponsored public bikesharing system, Youbike allows riders to simply tap their EasyCard or use the Youbike app to access a bike that can then be returned to any docking station in proximity. In late February, the Taipei Department of Transportation elected to eliminate Youbike fees for riders for the first thirty minutes of each trip. With about 90% of Youbike trips in the city lasting fewer than 30 minutes, this essentially makes most Youbike trips for Taipei residents free of charge. By 2026, Taipei hopes to add more than 600 docking stations and nearly 11,000 more bikes into the system. Walking around campus without encountering a student on a Youbike would be nearly impossible. With the prevalence of the bikes in every corner of Taipei, it’s interesting to think that there was ever a time when the majority of Youbikes went unused. On its initial launch in 2009, all Youbike rentals incurred a charge. However, by 2012, the Department of Transportation reported an average daily ridership of merely 23 people and an incurred loss of more than ten million NTD. To stoke ridership, the Taipei government decided to temporarily subsidize the bikes and make the first thirty minutes of each trip free. The fee for all rides regardless of length returned in April 2015 and has remained unchanged until now.
The Taipei government’s decision to reinstate a subsidized trip model is especially interesting in what it indicates about the city’s changing goals. As Youbike ridership in Taipei has long surpassed the point where an incentive to increase ridership would be necessary, the city has decided to prioritize reduction of carbon emissions over continued funding from their successful infrastructure, allocating NT$370 million into the budget of the new policy. The Taipei Department of Transportation stated that they hope free Youbike trips will promote public transportation use, as 48% of rentals are made with a transfer to other forms of transportation. With Taiwan aiming for a forty percent reduction in carbon emissions by 2030 and a net zero carbon policy by 2050, the hope is that Youbike trips, both on their own and in conjunction with other forms of public transit, will be a step towards reaching these climate goals. The subsidization of Youbikes is worthy of celebration, but the fact that this initiative was made possible at all is due to its frequent usership and the system that keeps Youbikes accessible and running. The upkeep of Youbikes and their stations is no simple task. Even though bikes are being taken out and returned in equal proportion, the nature of many people’s commutes to work, school, and home means that the ratio of bikes in each docking station vary significantly. Certain docking stations are routinely left empty during peak hours. As seen multiple times a day on campus and after hours around the city, Youbike employees collect the bikes on trucks and redistribute them, restocking empty docking stations that have been shown to expect high demand. In addition, with each bike encountering handoffs between multiple riders every day, it is inevitable that the bikes will encounter mechanical problems. Riders operate on a word-of-mouth understanding that a Youbike with a seat turned backwards is currently out of order. Youbike employees also collect and maintain these bikes to restore them to full functionality. It is also notable that Youbike is a governmental system compared to bikesharing systems in other countries that are privately owned. For example, the city of Los Angeles alone offers bike shares with companies such as Lyft, Bird, and Lime along with the city government’s Metro bikes. Competition among these companies may therefore set standards for pricing, as revenue is their primary goal. As all the bikesharing systems in Taiwan are government affiliated, bikes are provided as a public service rather than a profitable one, allowing for subsidies like Taipei’s in order to meet climate goals. With the introduction of an electric bike in certain counties, offering pedal assist and higher speeds to both Youbike’s existing audience and to new customers who are interested in a faster alternative to traditional bikes, Youbike continues to expand services to meet the growing needs of its users. While every Youbike user at NTU may be familiar with the dismay of rushing to class and seeing an empty dock, the news of Youbike’s subsidization in Taipei and its continued expansion is a welcome development. https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2012/05/27/2003533855 https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2024/02/27/2003814162 a
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May 2024
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