The Hsuehshan Tunnel is the main artery between Taipei & Yilan, but it can be severely clogged. Build new apps to help drivers avoid congestion and improve traffic flow in the tunnel.

Many of the seven million residents in the Taipei metropolitan area (Taipei, New Taipei City, Keelung City) and tourists travel to the popular Taiwanese vacation destination, Yilan, for long-weekends and major holidays. Most frequently, this trip is made by car or public transportation through the Hsuehshan Tunnel via Freeway 5. As a result, the Tunnel (and the area around it) is severely congested during these times, increasing travel times from 30 minutes up to 2 hours. The alternative is a winding shoreline highway, or an equally dangerous mountain pass, that take much longer and is more dangerous due to their cliff-side locations.

The Institute for Information Industry of Taiwan and Ford are committed to making travel in and around the Hsuehshan Tunnel better. The Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) of Taiwan has already created monitoring systems for traffic that can be accessed by the public, provided public transportation options via bus and train, etc. But it’s not enough. Weekend and holiday traffic continues to bog down the tunnel and expanding it isn’t an option.

Now, for the first time, Ford and the Institute for Information Industry want you to get involved. With newly released resources, including three-months worth of weather & traffic XML data, plus a plethora of information about the Hsuehshan Tunnel, Freeway 5, and the alternate routes (Highway 9, Highway 2, and Highway 2C), developers like you can focus your problem solving skills on the Hsuehshan slow down.

Despite the obvious infrastructure component, we believe software and service-oriented solutions can make a big impact on tunnel traffic. For example, how could you incentivize public and private group transportation -- not only to get to and from Yilan, but within the city as well?

Ready to learn more? To get started, take a look at the requirements below and then head over to the Resources page for access to the newly released traffic and weather XML data and more.

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