TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) led city officials in a YouBike ride on Sept. 20 to mark World Car Free Day (世界無車日), resulting in a record 270,000 rentals. The surge in YouBike usage highlighted issues of bike and docking station shortages.
Taipei City's Department of Transportation (交通局) noted an increase in YouBike rentals since schools reopened, though there were complaints of not enough bikes to rent and no bike post to return to. Mayor Chiang has since urged YouBike (微笑單車公司) to enhance staffing to address these shortages.
YouBike has committed to recruiting more personnel to reduce inconvenience. The transportation department reported an increase in staff from 2,667 in January to 300 in September and the addition of 1,000 YouBike 2.0E electric bikes to meet demand.
Despite efforts, some users still faced issues during peak hours. The department acknowledged sporadic shortages and stated that YouBike would relocate full-station bikes to facilitate returns.
YouBike plans to deploy hourly staff to manage full stations by moving bikes aside and dispatching vehicles for redistribution. Users unable to return bikes can apply for "full station extension" or contact customer service. YouBike aims to continuously optimize operations to minimize user inconvenience.
Stay tuned for further updates as Taipei City and YouBike work to improve the cycling experience for residents.
