After 44 years, scooters to regain access to key part of Taipei artery

Taipei, Dec. 2 (CNA) Scooters will soon have access to the section of Zhongxiao West Road in Taipei bordering the city's main train station for the first time since 1978, but only late at night or early in the morning when the area is less congested.

The Taipei City Traffic Engineering Office announced Friday that scooters can travel on Zhongxiao West Road between the intersections with Chongqing North Road and Zhongshan North Road from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. every day starting on Dec. 14.

Scooters had been banned from that part of the key downtown Taipei artery since 1978 because of fears the already congested traffic would get worse if large numbers of scooters and the many buses on that stretch of road had to contend with each other, the office said.

The issue was reexamined, however, because the removal of ramps on Zhongxiao West Road leading to outside the city in 2016 and other projects had changed traffic patterns and freed up space on the road, according to the office.

Scooters will still be prohibited from the area during the day because the number of buses that drive through during rush hour -- about 150-200 on weekdays and 100-130 on weekends -- remain high, the office said.

From 11 p.m. to 6 p.m., however, the traffic is far less intense, allowing scooters to operate safely in the area, according to the office, but they will still only be allowed on the two outside lanes.