Traveling with a Wheelchair: New Taipei Launches Accessible Travel App

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▲New Taipei City Government launches the “Barrier-Free Travel” app. (Photo / Provided by New Taipei City Government)

Travel Center / Comprehensive Report

Families with mobility-impaired members are in luck. To address the challenges faced by people with disabilities when traveling, New Taipei City Government has launched the “Active New Taipei – Barrier-Free Travel Guide” app, allowing users to check the accessibility features of various tourist spots across the Taipei-Keelung-New Taipei area from home.

Launched in late July, the “Active New Taipei – Barrier-Free Travel Guide” is Taiwan’s first travel guidebook dedicated to accessible tourism, specifically designed for individuals with physical or mobility disabilities. It provides information on accessibility at tourist attractions, museums, accommodations, and restaurants in the Taipei-Keelung-New Taipei region. The initial print run of 3,000 copies, distributed to social welfare centers and tourist service centers, was quickly snapped up and is currently being reprinted—much to the delight of those who have received it.

%The app allows users to look up barrier-free facilities across multiple cities. (Photo / Screenshot from the Barrier-Free Travel app)

Recognizing that most people now use smartphones, the New Taipei City Government has authorized the “Taipei Barrier-Free Resource Promotion Association (a nonprofit organization)” to integrate the guidebook’s content into its “Barrier-Free Travel” app, which is available for free download. The app enables travelers to instantly check the accessibility of various tourist spots, and also offers low-floor bus route information for the Taipei-New Taipei area, making it easier for everyone to explore Taipei, New Taipei, and Keelung with ease.

The “Barrier-Free Travel” app is also steadily expanding its database to include accessibility information for central and southern Taiwan, benefiting even more people with mobility challenges.