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進入《TAIPEI TIMES》 Ministry outlines Lunar New Year holiday traffic plans
Minister of Transportation and Communications Lin Chia-lung in Taipei yesterday details the ministry’s preparations for the peak travel period during the Lunar New Year holiday. Photo: Liu Hsin-te, Taipei Times
/ Staff writer, with CNA
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications has been coordinating with freeway, air and high-speed rail authorities in preparation for the peak travel period during the Lunar New Year holiday.
As part of the efforts to ease traffic congestion from Feb. 2 to Feb. 10, national freeways would be toll-free from midnight to 5am, Minister of Transportation and Communications Lin Chia-lung （林佳龍） said yesterday.
At other times during the nine-day period, a flat rate of NT$0.9 per kilometer would be in place, 25 percent lower than the standard rate, Lin said.
People traveling between the Hsinchu and Yanchao interchanges on the Formosa Freeway （Freeway No. 3） would receive an additional 20 discount, he said.
However, the standard toll-free first 20km of travel on freeways would be suspended for the holiday period, he said.
Between 7am and 12pm from Feb. 5 to Feb. 7, only vehicles with three or more occupants are allowed to enter southbound lanes on the Chiang Wei-shui Memorial Freeway （Freeway No. 5） from onramps at Nangang, Shiding and Pinglin, Lin said.
The same rules apply from 1pm to 6pm on Feb. 7 and Feb. 8 for northbound traffic accessing the National Sun Yat-sen Freeway （Freeway No. 1） from Kaohsiung to Hukou Township （湖口） in Hsinchu County and between Pingtung County’s Jiouru Township （九如） and Taoyuan’s Dasi District （大溪） on Freeway No. 3, he said.
The vehicle occupancy restrictions would also be in place from 2pm to 9pm from Feb. 7 to Feb. 10 for northbound lanes on Freeway No. 5 for vehicles using onramps in Yilan County’s Suao （蘇澳）, Luodong （羅東） and Toucheng （頭城） townships, Lin said.
“We hope the Lunar New Year traffic will be smoother than last year,” Lin said.
Regarding air travel, Taoyuan International Airport Corp （桃園國際機場公司） said that passenger volume is expected to spike at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Feb. 10, the last day of the holiday, with 785 flights scheduled that day and about 150,000 travelers expected.
Outbound travelers should arrive at the airport as early as possible, as long lines are expected at security and immigration processing.
The peak times for departures at Taoyuan airport during the holiday period are expected from 7am to 8am and 1pm to 3pm daily at Terminal 1, and from 8am to 12pm, 2pm to 6pm and 11pm to midnight daily at Terminal 2, the airport company said.
For arrivals, immigration lines will be longest from 11am to 12pm, 3pm to 4pm, 6pm to 7pm and 9pm to 11pm daily at Terminal 1, and from 12pm to 11pm at Terminal 2, the company said.
The company said it has been working with freeway bus operators to provide an additional 1,200 services to and from the airport during the holiday.
Meanwhile, the Railway Bureau said that due to high demand, it would offer 17 additional train services from Thursday next week to Feb. 11, along with the 482 extra services it had already planned.
In total, there will be 2,155 two-way services during the period, which will increase capacity by 25 percent, the bureau said, adding that it would be ready to offer additional services, depending on demand.
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
