Taichung the city of cycling brands
After the Taipei Cycle Show the We Love Cycling crew moved to Taichung in the centre western part of Taiwan. There is a lot of cycling industry concentrated in the area with many factories, stocks and assembly plants of many global recognised cycling brands.
The city has a population of over 2.7 million people who naturally need to travel to their jobs, schools and another daily tasks. Obviously the most of people are still riding on the scooters, which is one of the most popular commuting means in the whole Asia.
From scooter to a bicycle
The town hall reflects on the environmental issues and tries to support more ecological ways of transport as much as possible. ”Building the network of rental points in the whole city is one of the most important goals of the mayor,” says Timberly Lin who lives in Taichung for twenty years. The traffic is quite busy, but not as much as you’d expect according to the photos from another cities in Asia.
You can use the public bikes very easily even as a visitor from abroad. You just visit the kiosk located on the sidewalk. On the screen you choose your language. Don’t worry about getting confused because all the instructions are written in both Mandarin and English. You put you’re personal data into the electronic registration and then proceed to the rental, which is great value.
Make faster journeys for free
The first 30 minutes are free. The rental charge is covered by the contribution of environmental protection administration bureau. Under 4 hours, every 30 minutes cost 10 Taiwan dollars, which makes the total prize less than one euro per hour. Above 8 hours, every 30 minutes cost 40 bucks.
You’re asked to check the bikes condition before your rent, such as the brakes, tire pressure and lamps. In case there are any items not working properly, you should rotate the seat as an indication and report it to the customer service centre. If everything’s all right, just get on the bike and enjoy the ride. Infrastructure is great and traffic is not so heavy so you are free to ride.
Don’t forget to read our photo report from Taipei Cycle for some really interesting gizmos!
