I visited Taipei 2 years ago and spent about 6 days there. What I like most about Asian cities is how developed their subway systems (MRT) are. I actually have used the MRT in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, New York, Los Angeles, London and a number of other other cities. I used to be capable of taste the famous Taipei Metro.
Jakarta, which has just officially launched its MRT system, could replicate the success of the Taipei metro. Incredibly efficient, incredibly punctual and shockingly clean, the Taipei Metro is a mass transit marvel that each city should emulate. Taipei Rapid Transit System offers many lessons on subway operation. With customer satisfaction reaching 94 percent, the Taipei subway could be the best mass transit system on the planet.
What makes it so good?
There are 117 stations in the town of two.6 million inhabitants. The metro is the fastest and best solution to get around. Since the Taipei subway opened in 1996, the time it takes to travel across the town has dropped from three hours to lower than one hour. It carries 2.26 million people every single day and has fewer than 30 delays a 12 months – a powerful statistic that makes this metro probably the most reliable on the planet.
It can also be one in all the cleanest. The stations are exceptionally neat, especially in comparison with those in America and Europe. There are rubbish bins and recycling bins all over the place, and passengers are expected to not only put their rubbish into the suitable bin, but actually accomplish that. Even within the busiest stations there may be very little trash on the ground. Passengers gave the system a rating of 95.5 percent for “overall tidiness.”
Knowing when your train will arrive is essential when using mass transit, and few things are more frustrating than waiting eternally on the platform. Most stations in Taipei have television screens displaying real-time arrival information. (They also show ads, but we guess there are bills to pay for a subway that cost $18 billion to construct.) Screens at transfer stations also inform you when transfer trains have arrived, so you’ll be able to increase your pace if obligatory. Passengers gave the system a rating of 88.7 percent for providing accurate arrival information.
The system also scored high within the Eighties for ticket machines which might be easy to make use of. Taipei has ditched tickets in favor of tokens – unlike what New York has done – with an embedded microchip that records the passenger’s destination. Passengers scan their tokens over a turnstile reader on the station entrance, then drop them through a slot within the exit gate as they exit.
Most Taipei MRT stations have platform curtain doors. These are mainly panels that only open when the train arrives and also you open your personal doors. When the train departs, the doors close to stop anyone from falling onto the tracks, either unintentionally or on purpose. The lights on the gates also flash as trains approach and depart, and a loud warning signal is played from speakers above.
The train doors have 4 doors on either side as an alternative of the everyday two on American systems. This means getting on and off trains on platforms and in emergencies is less complicated and faster.
Most seats face the aisle, so that you do not have to climb over someone to get out. This design also allows for wider aisles and thus provides passengers with more standing space during peak hours. Sure, you’ve fewer seats, but keep in mind that it is a mass transit system designed to maneuver tens of 1000’s of individuals a day. Would you quite miss the train since it’s too full or take your seat?
It can also be possible to travel the whole length of the train without having to open any doors. Not only does this make it easier to travel between cars, however it also reduces congestion in each automobile because passengers can easily get out of a crowded area.
The ground-to-ceiling support beams are divided into three different poles, providing you with more things to hold while the train is moving. There are also countless lines of handles, about an inch apart, hanging from horizontal support beams.
Most stations have a small snack bar or two outside the station gate where you’ll be able to grab a small meal after leaving the station. Very convenient for somebody who has just returned from work or for a student coming back from school and desires to munch on something like red bean cake.
Some stations are also integrated directly with shopping malls, tourist resorts or restaurant zones. Take Taipei Central Station for instance. There you’ll be able to transfer to a different line, take the sunshine rail, transfer to bus lines, buy groceries within the underground galleries or the Shin Kong Mitsukoshi department store across the road, or eat at one in all the restaurants on the opposite floor. Basically, stations aren’t just something you go through while traveling. They are well-lit, clean, inviting, with free WiFi and cell service underground. They promote not only the subway system itself, but additionally the community around it.
The stations and systems as a complete are also very friendly to non-Mandarin speakers. All the characters are in fact in Traditional Chinese, but there’s English directly underneath them. And there are such a lot of signs all over the place that clearly direct you to the exits, toilets and other parts of the station that it’s really hard to wander away.
Each station entrance can also be numbered, making it easier to discover which directions to follow when entering and exiting the station. There are signs outside the station gates telling you when trains are coming out and in, so you understand if you should rush to catch a train or not.
We know that Singapore’s MRT can also be very efficient. However, in May 2016, Singapore’s Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan stated that his country’s rail operators, SBS Transit and SMRT, should follow the instance of Taipei’s MRT system. Speaking at a rail engineering forum, he cited the timely maintenance and substitute of Taipei MRT assets, in addition to the fast response to problems within the rail network. Khaw said Singapore’s Land Transport Authority (LTA) is working with TRTC to attach SBS and SMRT employees to metro workshops so that they can learn from asset maintenance practices and engineering improvements.
Sources: Wikipedia | CNN | Wired |
