Traffic mostly smooth on 1st day of LNY holiday; heavier flows expected Sunday

Taipei, Feb. 14 (CNA) The Lunar New Year holiday got off to a mostly smooth start on Taiwan's roads Saturday, with only brief congestion reported on a few major routes, though a larger homebound travel rush is expected on Sunday, according to the Highway Bureau.

On the first day of the Feb. 14-22 holiday, traffic was flowing normally, except for a few bottlenecks in some areas, including a section of Provincial Highway No. 2 between Zhuwei and Hongshulin in New Taipei's Tamsui District, the bureau said in a statement Saturday afternoon.

Some brief congestion was also reported in New Taipei on Provincial Highway No. 65 where it connects to National Freeway No. 3 at the Tucheng Interchange, as well as at the Wugu Interchange on National Freeway No. 1, the bureau said.

Traffic is expected to pick up on Sunday, the day before Lunar New Year's Eve, when family gatherings usually begin, the bureau said, warning of possible bottlenecks, particularly on the southbound and eastbound links connecting provincial highways with the national freeways.

It suggested that drivers use its Happiness Highway mobile app to check traffic conditions before setting off.

The app provides traffic news alerts and other information on route maps, mainly in Chinese, although it has an English-language interface.

Meanwhile, the Highway Bureau said it has been working with intercity bus operators to provide additional services to meet holiday demand, if necessary.

On Saturday, as of noon, some 5,937 bus services, carrying 105,934 passengers had already been in motion on the national freeway routes in western Taiwan, the bureau said. On the eastern routes, 1,555 services, carrying 27,136 passengers, were recorded, it added.

Advance bookings for Sunday showed 67.19 percent seat availability on bus routes in western Taiwan, and 83.96 percent on eastern routes, the bureau said.