ADAPTING TO TRENDS: As the populace ages and as there is a shortage of drivers of large vehicles, the ministry said it would raise the age limit before the end of this year

Taipei Times
Date: Apr 04, 2020
By: Cheng Wei-chi and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writer

Planned amendments to traffic and transportation laws would relax regulations on older drivers and push back age restrictions on tour bus drivers, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday.

An aging population and policies that raise the retirement age, along with driver shortage issues, all point to the need for raising the age limit for large vehicle drivers, the ministry said.

Amendments to Transportation Management Regulations (汽車運輸業管理規則) and the Road Traffic Security Rules (道路交通安全規則) would likely take place in the second half of this year, it said.

The age of large vehicle drivers cannot exceed 65, but there are 3,369 large vehicle drivers nationwide who are 64 years old, meaning that without changes, the driver shortage that bus companies and tour agencies are already experiencing would worsen, the ministry said.
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