TAIPEI (TVBS News) — The Ministry of Transportation (MOTC, 交通部) reported on Monday (Feb. 3) that the daily average usage of Taiwan Railway (台鐵) and Taiwan High Speed Rail (THSR, 高鐵) during 2025 Lunar New Year holiday remained steady compared to last year. National Highway bus services saw a 5% increase in daily traffic, thanks to a 40% fare discount.
The nine-day Lunar New Year holiday lasted from Jan. 25 to Feb. 2. During a press briefing, Deputy Transportation Minister Wu Sheng-yuan (伍勝園) revealed that the national highway bus service's daily average traffic rose by 5% compared to last year, with subsidies amounting to NT$65 million. Another MOTC official, Hu Ti-chi (胡迪琦), noted that the service transported 1.225 million passengers, a 31% increase from the previous year.
Taiwan Railway recorded 8.02 million passengers, an 18.7% rise, while THSR saw 2.54 million passengers, a 21.5% increase. Freeway Bureau (高公局) Director Chao Hsing-hua (趙興華) stated that the average traffic volume on national highways from the first to the fifth day of the holiday was 123.4 million vehicle kilometers (MVK), a slight 4% decrease from the same period last year.
On the second day of the holiday, two-way traffic reached 130.9 MVK, 1.4 times the usual volume, with an average congestion rate of 4.1%, consistent with last year. Freeway No. 5 (國道五號) saw a 6% decrease in average traffic, attributed to weather and earthquake impacts. Despite the drop in traffic volume, accidents and weather conditions continued to affect traffic flow, keeping congestion levels similar to last year.
