Taiwan Today
Date: March 31, 2016
Taipei Metro celebrated its 20th anniversary March 28, continuing to impress riders with its
Taipei Metro’s escalator etiquette is a source of pride for locals and amazement for foreigners. (UDN)
high standards of cleanliness, efficiency and globally recognized reliability.
From 2004 to 2008, the metro was No. 1 in the world for reliability as assessed by London-based benchmarking groups Community of Metros and Nova Group of Metros. According to operator Taipei Rapid Transit Corp., it no longer holds top spot but continues to rank among the leaders.
Congratulatory videos from city metros around the world flowed into the offices of TRTC. One of the most popular is a clip by New York City Transit Authority staffers wishing the metro happy birthday in Chinese.
This strong appreciation of the metro is shared by foreigners in Taiwan. Priority seats for the elderly, disabled and pregnant women; a ban on eating and drinking in stations and on trains; and standing on the right side of station escalators all come in for high praise.
Andrew Dyson, an English teacher from the U.S. working in Taipei, said the metro is safe, clean and convenient. “The no-food policy is good, for sure. So many times on the subway in New York I sit on seats covered in spilt pop and discarded fast food. I cannot begin to count the number of times I had to throw away designer jeans ruined by food and drink stains.” [FULL STORY]
