Kaohsiung City Bus: Fifteen Years of Experience and Prospects

On weekends, I took the MRT to Yanchengpu Station and visited SKB Wenming Pens. Then go to Hanshin Department Store. By the way, I checked that the No. 11 bus is about to arrive. Take a bus, and you will arrive at the entrance of the department store in four stops.

I only started actively taking the bus after the Kaohsiung MRT started operating fifteen years ago. At that time, almost no one took the bus in Kaohsiung City. There are few shifts and frequent shifts. The driver often speeds up and brakes sharply, and often scolds passengers. Many places cannot be reached by bus. In 2008, I wrote ” Kaohsiung MRT Shuttle Bus “, ” Kaohsiung MRT’s Biggest Difficulty ” and ” Kaohsiung City Bus Riding Guide “, recording the challenges of taking the bus at that time.

In fact, as early as 2006, I mentioned the importance of buses in ” The Biggest Hidden Worry of Kaohsiung MRT “: “If Kaohsiung MRT does not have a comprehensive bus network to support it, if Kaohsiung people do not use the public bus system to establish Because of the habits of the transportation system, Kaohsiung MRT will definitely lose money.”

In the second year of the MRT’s opening, in 2009, I wrote ” The MRT is starting, where are the buses?” 〉 and 〈 Bus Experience in Kaohsiung 〉 to express their concerns about the failure to improve the overall service quality of buses. The track is only the backbone, without the combination of the bus road network, it will be difficult to have a convenient effect.

In 2009, Kaohsiung City launched the first public bicycle rental system in Taiwan. It can be regarded as partially making up for the lack of public transportation. In the second year, Kaohsiung City’s public transport has finally improved compared to when the MRT first opened. I’m also more comfortable with rides, and more often. At that time, I wrote an article ” The Vision Brought to Me by the Bus “. In 2010 wrote ” Take the Bus, in Kaohsiung “.

After the merger of counties and cities, the bus road network must be expanded and extended. In 2011, I wrote ” Bus Experience in Kaohsiung: After the Merger of County and City “, sharing my observation and experience of this new public transportation milestone.

My habit of taking a bus in Kaohsiung has gradually generalized to other counties and cities. Wherever you go, try to use the local public transportation system. It is also because I often observe buses and passenger transportation in various places from the perspective of user experience design and service design, and later connected with the General Administration of Highways.

There are many incomplete public transportation in various places, and I am learning and doing my homework while exploring, and gradually building my own point of view. In 2014, the Kaohsiung City Transportation Bureau and the Highway Administration of the Ministry of Communications jointly organized the “Public Transportation Development Strategy Symposium”. I was honored to be invited to present a 20-minute introduction ” Public Transportation User Experience “.

From 2015 to 2016, the first phase of the circular light rail will be opened to traffic, and in 2020, public bicycles will be converted to YouBike . On the one hand, these two new services make up for the lack of bus services, and on the other hand, they also spread the demand for transfers outward. More people have demand for taking buses in more corners of the city.

The last is the unification of urban and rural bus fares starting in 2023, and the 399 yuan traffic monthly pass . This latest fare change and monthly pass service will surely attract more people to use public transport. In addition, the ring-shaped light rail will be fully opened to traffic at the end of the year, just like the opening of the MRT in those years. For bus services, it will not only increase the demand, but also pressure to upgrade.

Summarizing the fifteen years of experience in Kaohsiung City bus rides, I feel significant progress. Especially compared with the experience of taking a bus in other counties and cities, it is more obvious. However, compared with the progress of Kaohsiung MRT, light rail and public bicycles, the progress of buses is not fast enough.

With the cross-district traffic monthly pass coming on the road in July, the role of the bus is even more crucial. It is hoped that Kaohsiung City’s buses will be further improved on the basis of the past 15 years, so that citizens’ lives and public transportation can be more closely integrated.

further reading