Getting Around

I'm a big fan of public transportation and when we travel, I like to take the local trains, subways and buses. We've done all that here and more. Here are some observations:

Subway and city bus
The Taepai subway system is not as big as New York City, but it's big enough and there are many lines. Most of what we saw was new, effecient, clean, and timely. Biggest adjustment? Learning to queue in the space probided as we wait for the train. Nice touch? Every station is gated to enter the train. Result; it feels very safe.

There is no separation between cars so one can see from one
end of the train to the other. Neat!

Get in line, Ted!

The upper level is a mall travelling underground for a few miles with the subway running beneath. Notice the queueing as people wait for the train doors to open.

The city buses are nice. They are spotlessly clean and not crowded. We have to get used to boarding in the middle and getting off in front. We pay as we leave. Maybe it's backwards because we're on the other side of the world?

By the way, public transportation costs about $1.50 per ride.

Line up for the bus. Looks like home, right?

We also took a lot of taxis. They were easy to find queued up at every busy tourist stop. Again, clean, no tipping. What's not to like. Oh, no matter where we went it would cost between $4& $6. Not bad for a group of 4.


Scooters 
They're everywhere. Based on what I saw, there are millions of them on the island. The funny thing is that people ride with their dogs and kids on the scooters, standing up and holding onto the handle bars. Quite the sight.

Trains
We travelled for hours on 3 trains. They run on time and are comfortable. We didn't ride a bullet train but we saw miles of bullet train track going up. In fact, infrastructure - bridges, roads, and rail are being constructed like there's no tomorrow. The country will look quite different in a few years.

Waiting for trains in Taipei Station

All Aboard!

Tour buses

The paint job on every bus looks brand new

We took a tour bus to get from the city of Taichung to Sun Moon Lake; about a 90 minute drive into the mountains. Now, these buses are an experience. Every one, without exception looks brand new; inside and out. They can't be, but they are cared for metiullously, otherwise they wouldn't look that way. A very comfortable way to travel.

That's right - 3 plush seats across (2+1)!

So where'd we go? Keep watching!