Not following suit: “New Taipei City YouBike” still maintains the free first 30 minutes offer

▲Taipei City's YouBike will no longer be free starting April; New Taipei City will not follow suit. (Photo / Reporter Chen Mingren)

Travel Center / Comprehensive Report

Taipei City’s YouBike announced on the 11th that it would cancel the free first 30 minutes benefit and instead charge NT$5 for the first half hour. The New Taipei City Department of Transportation stated that it will not follow this move for now.

YouBike’s pricing follows the “territorial principle,” meaning the rates are determined by where the bike is rented. The New Taipei City Department of Transportation said that because YouBike in New Taipei City is still in the promotion stage, and to encourage the public to give up private transportation and use YouBike for the last mile when transferring to public transport, it has coordinated and communicated with the Taipei City Government and the operating company. For now, the free first 30 minutes offer will still be maintained.

As of now, New Taipei City’s YouBike has completed 76 stations with 2,000 bikes, with stations distributed across Xizhi, Xindian, Sanchong, Luzhou, Xinzhuang, and Shuanghe areas. It is expected that by mid-2016, the initial network of 300 stations and 8,000 bikes will be completed.