Shop bells to be banned at night

By Kuo Yi and Chen Wei-han / Staff reporter, with staff writer





Chimes that welcome customers are to be banned in July at the earliest in convenience stores in Taipei from late night to early morning to curb noise pollution, the Taipei Department of Environmental Protection said yesterday.

According to a forthcoming departmental noise-control bylaw, convenience store jingles are to be prohibited citywide from 10pm to 8am, with violators subject to a fine of between NT$3,000 and NT$30,000, department division head Yan Ling-chen (顏伶珍) said.

Noise-control inspectors can issue fines to violators directly without measuring decibel levels, she added.

The department drafted the bylaw based on the Noise Control Act (噪音管制法) after receiving 12 complaints about convenience store welcome chimes and 624 complaints about election campaigns over the past year, she said.

In January, the four major convenience store chains were given three months to address noise complaints and “pledged to comply with the new regulation to take on corporate social responsibility,” she said.

With a high density of convenience stores in residential areas in Taipei, and with outlets operating around the clock, the electronic door chimes — although generally producing sounds that fall within permissible noise levels — have become a nuisance in quiet neighborhoods, she said.

Residents usually lodge complaints with the department if they have failed to reach an understanding with store operators about noise control, she said.

The bylaw extends to megaphones and sound amplifiers commonly used during election campaigns, which are also prohibited from 10pm to 8am, with violators subject to the same punishment, she said.