Taipei, March 23 (CNA) Taichung Mayor Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) announced Monday that the city's existing bus rapid transit (BRT) system will be replaced by "optimized dedicated bus lanes" that will start operation July 8.
"The optimized dedicated bus lanes will replace the not-yet-born BRT, while taking the safety and efficiency of motorists, motorcyclists and pedestrians into consideration," Lin said during a city administration meeting.
In addition, the new measure will also be able to save as much as NT$28 billion (US$824 million) allocated to complete the system, Lin added, touting the new plan as meeting his administration's promise to improve the city's traffic.
The so-called "optimized dedicated bus lanes" program integrates two proposals -- BRT Plus Bus and Pure Bus -- and is aimed at resolving the controversial BRT problems, according to the mayor.
Adopting suggestions made by a team of experts contracted by the city government to examine and review the BRT system, Lin said he has decided to turn the existing BRT lanes into "optimized dedicated bus lanes" and to include the common public buses that currently run on Taiwan Boulevard -- the main road running through the core of the city -- on the dedicated bus-only lanes.
Under the new program, the existing BRT double-carriage buses will be retained, while 30 percent of the public buses now running on the slow lanes of Taiwan Boulevard will be allowed to travel on the exclusive bus lanes, leaving slower lanes for motorists and motorcyclists.
However, at least two public bus lines on Taiwan Boulevard will continue to operate on the slow lanes for passengers using minor stations, according to the Taichung Transportation Bureau.
Lin also said that all the buses running on the dedicated bus lanes will be given a unified exterior to facilitate their identification. "Their new livery will become Taichung's new mobile landmark," the mayor said.
When the program takes effect July 8, the city will simultaneously extend the free mileage of public bus rides from the current 8 kilometers to 10 km, Lin announced.
The BRT, which began last July, was the subject of heated debate among candidates in the November 2014 local government elections. Some motorists have complained about traffic congestion and difficulty changing lanes, since the BRT line and stations occupy dedicated lanes.
Amid the complaints, however, ridership on the BRT increased from 36,000 passengers per day at the end of August last year to 50,000 in October, according to Transportation Bureau data.
When the city government launched the BRT, Lin, who was a legislator at the time, said the system was not yet ready for operation and that then-Mayor Jason Hu (胡志強) had rushed it through as a tactic to woo voters in his re-election bid.
After Lin took office last December, he assembled a task force to examine the BRT's problems and advise the city government on solutions.
"The Taichung BRT has never been a real BRT system. It is a BRT not yet born," Lin said at Monday's city administration meeting, explaining that under the existing system, BRT buses do not enjoy exclusive road rights or priority traffic signals.
The BRT traffic control center, which he said is poorly equipped, cannot even directly communicate with the buses on the road or the stations, Lin said.
In conclusion, he said, it is a failure in terms of both establishment and operation.
(By Kuan Jui-pin, Sunrise Huang, Liao Jen-kai and Elizabeth Hsu)
Changes set for Taichung BRT
BUSTED RAPID TRANSIT:The ‘optimized, dedicated bus lanes’ plan blends two proposals from a team tasked with reviewing the troubled Bus Rapid Transit
By Su Ching-feng / Staff reporter, with CNA
A bus on Taichung’s Bus Rapid Transit system enters a station in Taichung yesterday.
Photo: Liao Yao-tung, Taipei Times
The problem-plagued Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system in Taichung, launched in July last year, is to be abolished after Taichung Mayor Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) yesterday announced that the BRT lanes would be replaced with “optimized, dedicated bus lanes” starting on July 8.
Lin made the announcement at a city administration meeting.
He declined to describe the move as the “abortion” of the system, instead calling the city’s existing system “stillborn,” as BRT buses do not possess exclusive road rights or priority traffic signals, and the BRT traffic control center cannot communicate directly with the buses while they are on the road or at its stations.
Under the new policy, existing BRT lanes would be exclusively for public buses that currently run on the dedicated bus-only lanes on Taiwan Boulevard (台灣大道) — the main road through the heart of the city — while BRT double-carriage buses would continue to run on the lanes after concerns over safety are addressed, the Taichung Transportation Bureau said.
About 30 percent of the public buses on Taiwan Boulevard would then be allowed to travel on the dedicated bus-only lanes, leaving slower lanes for motorists and motorcyclists, while at lease two bus lines on Taiwan Boulevard would continue to operate on the slow lanes for passengers using minor stations, the bureau said.
All the buses running on the “optimized dedicated bus lanes” would have a uniform look so that they can be easily identified, Lin said.
“Their new livery will become Taichung’s new mobile landmark,” he added.
Lin said that decision would save the city government NT$28 billion (US$893.1 million) previously allocated for the completion of existing BRT lanes — and an additional five BRT lanes — adding that the money would be used to improve the city’s traffic management.
The city government contracted a team of experts to examine and review the BRT system after Lin took office in December last year.
The report was concluded on Saturday.
Lin said that the “optimized dedicated bus lanes” program integrates two proposals — “BRT Plus Bus” and “Pure Bus” — among the four suggested by the team.
The other two suggestions — “Pure BRT” and “BRT Plus Bus plus priority traffic signals” — were not accepted, after an evaluation found the difficulties in implementation were insuperable, Lin said.
The BRT system was the subject of heated debate among Taichung candidates in the nine-in-one elections in November last year.
When the system was launched by then-mayor Jason Hu (胡志強) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), Lin, a member of the Democratic Progressive Party, criticized Hu for rushing it through in a bid to garner votes in his re-election effort.
Lin said yesterday that the system was a failure in its establishment and operation.
Some motorists have complained about traffic congestion and what they describe as difficulty changing lanes, since BRT stations and lines were built on the islands between slow and express lanes.
A motorist surnamed Liu (劉) expressed disapproval of the new program, saying it would not make it any easier to change lanes and could increase the likelihood of an accident with more public buses running on the lanes.
Having the BRT lanes accommodate so many buses would only slow traffic, an unidentified KMT Taichung city councilor reportedly said, adding that Lin opposed the BRT just because it was a project of Hu’s.
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications later yesterday said that it would not ask the Taichung City Government to return the NT$163 million appropriated by the city to subsidize the construction of the BRT system.
The budget was given to the city to build the bus system and for the operator to purchase buses, ministry official Hu Ti-chi (胡迪琦) said, adding that, as the city plans to continue using the facilities despite the decision it made regarding the BRT lanes yesterday, the ministry would not ask the city to return the money.
Kris is the butcher who makes the best sausage, hamburgers, and cold cuts in Taichung. Palio's pizza uses it as an ingredient as do some other fine eateries in Taichung. Believe me, the sausage and cold cuts are better than the stuff you find preserved in supermarkets. Furthermore, Kris smokes his own salmon for the best lox this side of Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The only thing missing is the kosher pickle (hint hint, Kris, you can pick some up cheap at Costco!) I suggest their leg ham, bacon, and kabanassi (did I spell that right) sausage and hamburgers. The bar is fun, too. On Mondays, the beer is half priced or something because he wants to empty the keg he starts fresh on Wednesday after Tuesday's day off. By the way, the ladies who work there are fine (but don't touch) and Belling keeps a little English lending library to which I donated Life of Pi and others. I highly recommend Belling's for an unpretentious meal or beer with colleagues. 
