New parking meters allow payment with EasyCard
Taipei City opened 216 parking meters along Min Sheng East Rd. yesterday that allow motorists to pay with EasyCards rather than coins, a step the city believes will provide greater convenience to local drivers.
The new machines, installed between Min Sheng East Rd. sections one and three, comprised the first of three batches scheduled to be put in over the next three months. Another 884 of the devices should become operational in April and another 900 will come into service in May.
The Taipei City Government plans to have all roadside coin-operated parking meters in the city replaced with the new meters within the next two years.
Taipei City Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) lauded the service and said the new payment system will be a boon for drivers.
"Aside from Hong Kong and Shanghai, Taipei is the third city to allow the public to pay for parking via a metro card. The new system is a huge blessing for city residents," Ma said.
To promote the use of the new parking meters, Taipei's Parking Management Office announced that during the first month of operation, motorists using the meters would get a discount of NT$10 per hour, lowering the hourly rate from NT$50 to NT$40.
Not all motorists were sold on the system, however, especially those who reside outside the city.
'Time consuming' system
Taichung businessman Wu Fu-hsiung said he feels the new system is time-consuming because now he has to "take the extra step" of going to buy an EasyCard.
"It's not fair that out-of-towners like me have to buy a card that we'll rarely use. The problem is not finding the right change to pay for the meter. The problem is finding a parking space in the city," Wu said.
With an EasyCard costing NT$100, Wu figured the public will actually lose money by misplacing the stored-value cards.
"Overall, I think it is just another ploy by the city government and the Taipei Smart Card Corporation to squeeze more money from the public," he said.
Taipei's parking office noted, however, that those without EasyCards can still park in spaces served by the new parking meters. In those cases, roadside parking attendants will issue a two-hour limit parking notice. The driver is then required to pay the fee at any of the locations specified on the notice.
There are currently about 5 million EasyCards in circulation. The cards allow users to pay for rides on Taipei's mass rapid transit system or on city busses, or for parking at city government-operated parking lots.
Card users can add value to them at any MRT station and at some convenience stores.
The Taipei City Government plans to have all roadside coin-operated parking meters in the city replaced with the new meters within the next two years.
Taipei City Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) lauded the service and said the new payment system will be a boon for drivers.
"Aside from Hong Kong and Shanghai, Taipei is the third city to allow the public to pay for parking via a metro card. The new system is a huge blessing for city residents," Ma said.
To promote the use of the new parking meters, Taipei's Parking Management Office announced that during the first month of operation, motorists using the meters would get a discount of NT$10 per hour, lowering the hourly rate from NT$50 to NT$40.
Not all motorists were sold on the system, however, especially those who reside outside the city.
'Time consuming' system
Taichung businessman Wu Fu-hsiung said he feels the new system is time-consuming because now he has to "take the extra step" of going to buy an EasyCard.
"It's not fair that out-of-towners like me have to buy a card that we'll rarely use. The problem is not finding the right change to pay for the meter. The problem is finding a parking space in the city," Wu said.
With an EasyCard costing NT$100, Wu figured the public will actually lose money by misplacing the stored-value cards.
"Overall, I think it is just another ploy by the city government and the Taipei Smart Card Corporation to squeeze more money from the public," he said.
Taipei's parking office noted, however, that those without EasyCards can still park in spaces served by the new parking meters. In those cases, roadside parking attendants will issue a two-hour limit parking notice. The driver is then required to pay the fee at any of the locations specified on the notice.
There are currently about 5 million EasyCards in circulation. The cards allow users to pay for rides on Taipei's mass rapid transit system or on city busses, or for parking at city government-operated parking lots.
Card users can add value to them at any MRT station and at some convenience stores.
A man demonstrates using EasyCard to pay for parking fee at a new parking meter at a press conference yesterday. Starting yesterday, people in Taipei can pay parking fee at 216 parking meters in town with EasyCard./RICK YI, TAIWAN NEWS
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