The Regulator's Role

This article was published by the Taiwan Review on September 1, 2007. It reports that according to the Bureau of High Speed Rail under the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC), given Taiwan's limited land and energy resources, the country should make public transport the backbone of its transportation development. Indeed, the government is urged to consolidate the efficiency of connections between the high-speed railway stations and downtown areas in Taiwan's western corridor.

According to MOTC officials, the launch of bullet trains helps the government's promotion of public transportation. By integrating the high-speed railway with conventional rail, MRT systems and buses to form an efficient and convenient network, the government aims to enlarge the public transport market as a whole, while reducing the number of private vehicles on the road.

In its initial planning, the MOTC had wanted the high-speed railway to share space with existing railway or MRT stations, which are located in downtown areas. However, it had failed in this objective due to the difficulty in acquiring land for tracks.

Nonetheless, MOTC officials have mapped out a grand plan for feeder systems to each high-speed rail station, utilizing MRTs, light-rail systems, conventional railway branch lines and dedicated bus lanes. Construction of these feeder routes is already underway. For example, the MRT connection between Kaohsiung's Zuoying station and the city downtown will be completed by the end of 2007. The MRT connection between the Taoyuan station and the international airport will be completed between 2010 and 2013. Other domestic transportation systems such as airlines and bus services will also be boosted.

According to MOTC officials, in principle, the high-speed railway will concentrate on medium- to long-distance travel, the Taiwan Railway Administration (TRA) railways on the medium-range and commuter transportation, freeways on inter-regional and freight services, and airlines on west-east and offshore routes, as well as international services in cooperation with other countries in the region. Each mode of transport is supposed to have its niche within an integrated system.

Consequently, the MOTC will assist the TRA to shift its business focus to commuter routes, somewhat resembling MRT operations but with a much wider service area. The TRA is also expected to provide “spoke” links to small and remote towns from high-speed railway “hubs”. Meanwhile, the ministry will encourage joint operations or mergers between domestic airlines and develop traffic rights with foreign countries.

As for highway bus companies, the MOTC plans to promote their cooperation with the Taiwan High-Speed Railway Corp. (THSRC) in the provision of connection, door-to-door or tourism services, by opening more rights-of-way, such as allowing buses to use certain specially designated roads. The ministry will also help district bus operators expand their service areas by establishing more transit stations.