Smiling Ubike Brother Edition – New Taipei Launches Blue Bikes “New Bike”

  ▲ New Taipei City introduces blue “New Bike” to promote energy conservation, carbon reduction, and ease urban traffic congestion. (Photo provided by New Taipei City Environmental Protection Bureau)

Travel Center / Comprehensive Report

A brother edition of Taipei’s Smiling Bikes (Ubike) has arrived in New Taipei City. Officially launched on September 2, the city’s new blue “New Bike” bicycles are now available for public use. However, unlike Ubike, which offers over 3,400 bikes across 103 stations, the first batch of New Bikes is currently limited to Banqiao District, featuring 13 stations and 200 bikes.

Since 2008, the New Taipei City Environmental Protection Bureau has been piloting a public bicycle service in 14 locations in Banqiao District and one in Zhonghe District to promote “energy conservation and carbon reduction” and alleviate urban traffic pressure. As of August 16 this year, the 280 bikes made available to the public have surpassed 650,000 rides. Starting in September, the public bicycle service will be upgraded to a fully automated rental system, similar to Ubike, to speed up the rental process for users.

▲ New Taipei City introduces blue “New Bike” (Photo provided by New Taipei City Environmental Protection Bureau)

However, as the service is still in its promotional phase, the newly launched New Bikes on September 2 are only available along the section from Jiangzicui MRT Station to Asia Eastern Hospital Station in Banqiao, covering 13 stations and 200 bikes near nearby parks and municipal facilities. Due to differences in the rental systems, the bikes cannot be used across districts and are limited to New Taipei City.

The New Taipei City Environmental Protection Bureau stated that the current focus of New Bike is to expand along the Ban-Nan Line, with the ultimate goal of covering the entire New Taipei City. As for cross-district integration with Taipei’s Ubike, both cities’ transportation bureaus are still in negotiations due to operational and cost considerations. A cross-district agreement is expected to be reached this year.

New Taipei City Blue “New Bike”

Registration Method: Users can register at the “New Bike” official website, New Taipei City Government, the service center next to Xinzhuang MRT Station, or at the information kiosks at each rental station by presenting their EasyCard.

Pricing: The first 30 minutes are free, and each subsequent 30-minute period costs NT$10. Payment can only be made using an EasyCard.

New Taipei City Blue “New Bike” Official Website