In 2006, Kaohsiung City recorded a paltry 4.3 percent share for public transportation usage. In the years since, the Kaohsiung City government launched an ambitious plan to increase ridership in Taiwan’s second largest urban area.
Benjamin Fox reports that the city has been investing heavily in its public transportation, and officials are working to get the system established before working to discourage automobile usage:
"The aspect of Kaohsiung's transportation upgrade that has been drawing the most attention is its ultra-modern mass rapid transit (MRT) system. Opening in March 2008, the Kaohsiung MRT is Taiwan's second urban subway system. The KMRT currently comprises two lines running along a horizontal-vertical axis, encompassing 36 stations and 42.7 kilometers of track. Paralleling its MRT development, Kaohsiung added hundreds of buses to the road, doubled MRT shuttle bus connectivity, and acquired 100 low-floor buses for wheelchair passengers."
Thanks to Jeffrey Riecke
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