New Taipei City’s “NewBike” Bids Farewell to History – Merging with YouBike by Year-End

▲New Taipei City Mayor Eric Chu has recently announced that the “NewBike” system will be integrated with Taipei City’s YouBike. The future New Taipei City YouBike network is expected to expand to 300 stations. (Photo / Reporter Lu Y...)

Tourism Center / Comprehensive Report

Since its launch in September this year, New Taipei City’s NewBike has received mixed reviews, with one of the biggest inconveniences being the inability to integrate with Taipei City’s YouBike system. After discussions, New Taipei City Mayor Eric Chu recently announced plans to set up four trial YouBike stations by the end of the year, with future expansion expected to reach 300 rental stations.

The public bicycle rental system “NewBike,” officially launched in New Taipei City this September, currently has 13 stations and 200 bikes across the city. However, due to differences with Taipei City’s YouBike system, integration is not possible. Rental is limited to EasyCard users only, and users must first tap their card at a card reader before borrowing a bike, which many have found highly inconvenient.

%The NewBike rental process is more cumbersome compared to YouBike, causing inconvenience for many users. The image below shows a NewBike for reference. (Photo / Provided by New Taipei City Environmental Protection Bureau)

“We’re just separated by a river, sharing the same living area, yet we have two completely different systems—it’s really inconvenient to commute.” This sentiment is shared by many who travel daily between Taipei City and New Taipei City. New Taipei City Mayor Eric Chu has pledged to gradually integrate the public bike rental stations with Taipei City’s YouBike. Four locations, including “Xizhi Xiling Business Plaza,” “Jinlong Elementary School,” “MRT Xindian Line Dapinglin Station,” and the HTC headquarters in Xinzhuang and Xindian Districts, have been selected for a YouBike trial by the end of the year. The long-term goal is to expand the system to 300 stations across all districts of New Taipei City, with bikes marked to indicate they belong to New Taipei City.

As for the phased-out NewBike system, how will it be handled? New Taipei City Transportation Bureau Director Zhao Shaolian stated that the bikes are expected to be relocated to Pinglin and Shuangxi for continued use as low-carbon tourism facilities, ensuring that this system will not go to waste.