Transportation in Taichung
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Taichung is located in central Taiwan and is the third largest city in the island country. The city offers nearly a full range of transportation options for its residents and guests.
Getting Around Taichung Taichung City has greatly improved it's city bus service, but it is still just a frqgment of what it was 20 years ago. Unlike other major cities on Taiwan, Taichung has no MRT or subway system despite funds having been allocated for that express purpose year ago. Motorcycles followed automobiles are by far the most widely used forms of transportation in Taichung City. With no expressways crossing the city, navigation is haphazard at best.
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[edit] Train Service
Taichung Station is located on Jianguo Road (建國路). There is a small square in the front of the station, and numerous bus companies have stations within a three-minute walk of the station. They provide comprehensive local bus service along with long-distance bus services, many of which are to towns not served by trains.
Taichung Station lies on the mountain line, which splits from the coastal line from Zhanghua City to the south of Taichung, to Zhunan, near Hsinchu, to the north.
The first southbound train departs for Pingdong at 6:05 in the morning while the first northbound train departs for Taipei at 6:10 am. The last trains in the early morning depart at 2:37 am and 2:46 for Pingdong and Taipei respectively.
While the new High Speed Rail will not have a stop in Taichung City, there will be a stop just across the border in Wuri Rural Township, Taichung County. Schedules have not yet been confirmed, though service is expected to begin on October 31, 2006.
[edit] Long Distance Bus Service
Seven bus companies offer service from Taichung city to points outside the Taichung city/county area. Also some of the local bus companies have received permission to establish routes to e.g., Taipei.
- Changhua Bus Company - Through its hub in Changhua City, just to the south of Taichung, Changhua Bus Company offers service to most of Changhua County as well as popular spots in Nantou County, including Nantou City, Caotun, and Puli.
- Yuanlin Bus Company - Like Changhua Bus Company, it is based in Changhua County, though in the town of Yuanlin, which is south of Changhua City. Many buses travel between downtown Taichung and its hub of Yuanlin. From there, it is possible to get buses to most of southern and western Changhua County as well as to Lugang on the coast.
- U-Bus Company - U-Bus has routes all over western Taiwan from Taipei to Kaohsiung. They offer service to those two cities, as well as Tainan and the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport. They offer service both from the Taichung Train Station and the Chaoma Bus Station.
- Kuo-kuang Bus Company - Kuo-Kuang also has a national reach with bus stations all over the country. The main Taichung station is located right next to Taichung's main train station. They also have stations at Chaoma and Shuinan. They offer service to many locales, including Taipei, Kaohsiung, Tainan, Hsinchu, Keelung, Banciao, and Sun Moon Lake.
- Dragon Bus Company - Dragon bus primarily offers to and from Taipei. Their main Taichung station is at Gancheng, but they offer stops all along Taichung Harbor Road to the expressway that leads to and from Taipei City.
- Free Go (Flying Dog) - Free Go (or Flying Dog as its Chinese name translates as) offers service primarily from Taichung City to Taipei City and the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport. Their main Taichung station is at Gancheng, but they pick up and drop off passengers at various locations, including the Taichung Train Station, Chungshan Medical University, Chaoma and Shuinan.
- Aloha Bus Company - Aloha maintains two station in Taichung City, Gancheng and Chaoma. Service is offerred to Taipei and Kaohsiung. Transportation to other cities can be arranged via either of those two cities.
- Ho-Hsin Bus Company - Ho-Hsin offers service to Taipei, Kaohsiung, and Jhongli.
[edit] Sea Port
Taichung Harbor, located on the coast in Taichung County, is the second largest cargo facility on the island capable of handling container shipping.
Despite being the second largest port on the island of Taiwan, there are no regular passenger ferry services available and the port is closed to unauthorized personnel.
[edit] Inner City Traffic
Unlike other major cities, Taichung has no expressway crossing the city. The heaviest traffic congestion is on Taichung Harbor Road (台中港路), which can come to a stand still not only during rush hour, but also on weekends or late evenings as many of the most popular shopping centers and movie theaters are on that stretch of road. Other busy stretches of road include SanMin Road near Chungyou Department Store and Yizhong Street, especially around 9:00 PM, when local cram schools and baseball games typically let out.
The downtown area is vaguely a grid pattern with Ziyou Road (自由路) and SanMin （三民路） running basically southwest to northeast while Zhongzheng Road (中正路) and Linsen Road (林森路) run northwest from the center of the city, in addition to the more narrow one-way roads that follow the grid pattern as well.
A large number of multi-lane roads then lead out of the downtown area in all directions. Some of them are divided by a physical barrier or median to enhance safety. These roads include Taichung Harbor Road (台中港路), Wuquan West Road (五權西路), Beitun Road (北屯路), Taiyuan Road (太原路), Hanxi Road (旱溪路), Guoguang Road (國光路), Zhongqing Road (中清路,) Wuquan South Road (五權南路) and Wenxin South Road (文心南路).
Stop lights and lane indicators are generally observed on major streets, but are often viewed more as suggestions rather than legally enforced traffic rules unless traffic police officers are present. Speed limits are often not enforced, except where specifically designated speed detection cameras are present and marked with signs, making traffic conditions some of the most dangerous on the island. Most major intersections have traffic signs with Romanized names. However, despite the fact that Taichung City has recently declared Hanyu Pinyin the official Romanization system for the city, there are numerous signs leftover from previous Romanization regimes while the a large number of minor intersections have no Romanization of any kind. Navigation in Taichung city is extremely difficult for those who are unable to read Chinese characters.
[edit] Mass Transportation
[edit] Local Train Service
Taichung currently does not have a subway, lightrail or any type of (MRT) system, though according to a pamphlet and a published report in 2000, one has been in the planning stages for several years. However, there is not yet any timetable for a Taichung MRT line nor has any construction has been initiated.
Despite this, there is limited local train service in the city of Taichung. There are two small train stations within the city limits at Taiyuan and Daqing, with a third planned for Wuquan, in addition to the main Taichung train station. All of these provide service to Wuri train station, which is directly connected to the high speed rail. Also, many people, especially students, use the train to travel to the main train station from the two smaller stations. Train stations in neighboring Tanzi, Fengyuan, Dajia, and other communities provide modest rail transportation availability in the Greater Taichung Area.
[edit] Local Bus Service
Taichung's bus service is comprehensive, covering virtually the entire city limits along with service to neighboring communities such as Fengyuan, Dali, Tanzi, Dongshi, and Daya. There are seven bus companies providing local bus service.
- Renyou Bus Company offers thirteen routes going to Dakeng, Shuinan, Xitun, Nantun, and Lingdong University of Technology.
- Taichung Bus Company runs seventeen routes all throughout the city, including to the new international airport just outside the city limits.
- Quanhong Bus Company runs a single route from the Gancheng Bus Terminal to Overseas Chinese Institute of Technology, near Feng Chia University.
- Giant Bus Company runs a single inner-city route running from Tunghai University in Xitun to the Central Taiwan University of Technology with a stop at the Taiyuan Train Station. It also runs two routes out of the city that also makes local stops.
- U-Bus runs seven routes, mostly in the western parts of the city.
- Fengyuan Bus Company runs a large number of routes to neighboring communities, providing local service en route to their out-of-city destinations, in addition to four routes entirely within the city.
- Lianguang Bus Company runs five routes from downtown to different points in the city.
[edit] Doors
Whereas one might have gotten used to boarding buses via the read door in Taipei, read doors on Taichung buses, if any, are firmly sealed. All boarding and exiting is done via the front doors.
[edit] Freeways and Expressways
National Highway No. 1 (國道一號), also known as the Sun Yat-Sen Freeway, passes through the western part of the city and has three interchanges in Taichung City. One is at Zhongqing Road (中清路), another at Taichung Harbor Road (中港路) and the southernmost at Wuquan West Road (五權西路).
Taichung-Zhanghua Expressway (中彰快速道路,) is the main stretch of Provincial Highway No. 74 that runs from northwestern Taichung City through part of Taichung County into the northern part of Zhanghua City just to the south of Taichung. At some points, it is just a few dozen meters east of the Sun Yat-Sen Freeway. While it does not connect directly to that highway, it does have an interchange with National Highway No. 3 (國道三號) in Taichung County, where one can then access it in a couple of minutes.
Taichung-Nantou Expressway (中投公路,) also known as Provincial Highway No. 63, runs from Dali City (just south of the border from Taichung City) to Nantou County. It can be accessed by driving out of Taichung City on Wuquan South Road, where it becomes the Taichung-Nantou Expressway within a kilometer of the city line. While there is no direct interchange with National Highway No. 3, one can get off in Wufeng and, after about two minutes on surface roads, easily access the highway.
[edit] Taichung International Airport
The Taichung International Airport is the third, and newest, international airport in Taiwan.
The Taichung International Airport civilian terminal is located on the western corner of CCK Air Force Base, about 20 kilometers (12 mi) from Taichung City. The main road linking Taichung and the airport is Zhongqing Road (Provincial Route 10.) The airport is located within a kilometer (1,100 yd) of the Shalu (沙鹿) Exit on National Highway Number 3.
In 2002 Ministry of Transportation and Communications began working on a plan to move air traffic from Taichung's ShuiNan Airport to the Qingquangang (CCK) Air Force base as a first step to converting CCK into a new international airport to facilitate larger aircraft.
The airport opened in early 2004, and the expanded facility at Qingquangang (CCK) Air Force Base has a much longer runway capable of handling larger aircraft. International charter flight service from the city began the same day.
The opening of the The Taichung International Airport did spark a spat of partisan controversy about being incomplete and safety concerns were raised. The fact that Taiwan has more airports per capita than any other country in the region and prohibits private airplanes fell on deaf ears because the anticipated and protracted opening of direct links with the Chinese mainland are expected to require an increase in air traffic.
Taichung's airport currently handles daily scheduled flights between Taichung and the cities of Taipei and Hualian, as well as the offshore islands of Penghu (Pescadores) and Jinmen. Airlines operating out of Taichung include Mandarin and UNI. International air services are expected to continue growing to include charter flights between Taichung and South Korea, plus special charter flights to other destinations and possibly the Chinese mainland.
[edit] Notes
- ^ TRA targets shorter trips on competition. China Post (9 2006).
- ^ MRT networks to link up with high-speed rail. Taipei Times (2 2000).
- ^ 仁友客運公司 (Renyou Bus Company).
- ^ Taichung Bus Company Local Routes.
- ^ Taichung City Local Bus Routes.
- ^ Fengyuan Bus Company timetable.
- ^ "New Taiwan airport sparks political squabble" (3 2004).
- ^ Taiwan plans to increase LPG cars (October 2005).
[edit] External links
- Note - nearly all of these sites are exclusively in Chinese
[edit] Train Service
- Taiwan Railway Administration.
- Taiwan Railway Administration (Train Station list).
- Taichung Train Station.
[edit] Long-Distance Bus Service
- Changhua Bus Company.
- Yuanlin Bus Company.
- U-Bus Company.
- Kuo-Kuang Bus Company.
- Dragon Bus Company.
- Free Go Bus Company.
- Aloha Bus Company.
- Ho-Hsin Bus Company.
