TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – On March 12, the mayors of Taipei and New Taipei City met to make a joint announcement that the cities would begin offering an option for unlimited rides on the MRT, city buses, and Youbikes, making traveling around northern Taiwan even more convenient for locals and visitors.



The new option, which will offer unlimited rides within a thirty day period will go into effect on April 16. The cost is NT$ 1,280 (US$ 44), and with the travel pass, travelers can make unlimited use of transportation systems in the two cities.



Taipei City Mayor Ko Wen-je and New Taipei City Mayor Eric Chu met at Da’an Forest Park Station on the morning of Monday, March 12 to make the announcement.



Before April 16 arrives, residents can use a regular Yoyo Travel Card (悠遊卡) or Debit card to pre-purchase the unlimited monthly rides pass, provided their card will remain valid for at least 60 days. They can use the value-added machines, or go to the service desk to purchase the pass in advance, and then on April 16, they can begin using the unlimited pass.



Currently, if a resident takes an MRT line its full distance back and forth every day, they would pay NT$ 65 for each leg of the day’s travel. Even with an 80 percent discount of some Yoyo cards, the daily fee would still be NT$ 104 for a round trip. An entire month of 22 work days would cost NT$ 2,288 (US$ 78).



With the new unlimited monthly travel option, a resident could potentially save over NT$ 1,000 every month.



The director of Taipei’s Transportation Bureau, Chen Xuetai (陳學台), was quoted by Yahoo News as saying that by making transportation more affordable, the city also hopes to attract more drivers and motorcyclists to begin opting for public transportation.



Both mayors also expressed their hope that the unlimited monthly rides option would lead to increased use of public transportation, and as a result, improve air quality and help to solve traffic congestion in Taipei and New Taipei.