Institute of Transportation, MOTC

• Date：2023-09-19
• Update：2023-09-19
• Department：IOT

 Project Overview

       Since 2015, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications has allocated funds and tasked the Ministry of Transportation with the “Establishing Public Transportation Development” task in order to implement public transportation development, encourage universities and colleges to use rich basic R&D facilities and research resources, assist the Ministry of Transportation and Communications in related policy promotion, and compensate for manpower and capability shortages in promoting road public transportation. Through the Regional Transportation Research and Development Center (henceforth the regional center), local governments’ capacities can be strengthened while promoting the collaborative development of academia, industries, and government sectors, resulting in the implementation of sustainable local public transportation development.

       Since the implementation of the pre-plan planning of the regional center from October 2015 to the end of October 2020, the phasal tasks of the principal work items have been completed. The Institute of Transportation, with the approval of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, has continued to implement the “Implement the Service Upgrade 2.0 Plan for the Regional Transportation Research and Development Center (2021–2022)” in 2021, with the implementation focuses of “regional (cross-county and cross-city),” “linking policies,” and “cross-domain integration.” Regional governance and local cultivation are encouraged, while guiding the improvement and upgrade of long-term regional development planning. Major national policies are linked to budgets for public transportation plans and road safety funds in order to steadily promote the development of public transportation. In addition, local road safety improvement plans incorporate counseling and assistance.

Research Results

1. Conducting training courses for professionals in transportation and road safety: From January to December 2022, a total of 81 physical courses were held, with 2,319 participants. In addition, 12 online courses were conducted with approximately 1,600 participants.
2. Assisting local governments in evaluating and analyzing proposals for public transportation: Between January 2022 and December 2022, 18 cases of assisting local governments in implementing publication transportation proposals were documented. In addition, planning and implementation for the two issues “Remote Public Transportation and Operational Model Review and Innovative Practices” and “Review and Promotional Practices of Station Establishment Effectiveness” continued. The focus was on discussing the remote public transportation service operations of local governments and evaluating the effectiveness of bus station layouts. In addition, strategies and recommendations for improving future operations or setups were proposed.
3. Providing local policy consultation services and counseling for government proposals: From January 2022 to December 2022, consultation services were rendered 92 times, with local government bureau and division directors participating 49 times.
4. Cross-domain cooperation and the integration of cross-ministry/agency resources included not only the promotion of highway public transportation, but also regional industrial upgrade counseling, thereby implementing service innovation and system construction.

Result Promotion and Benefits

1. Concerning the “Inventory of the Effectiveness of Campus Bus Service and Recommendations for Refinement,” an inventory of campus-connecting public transportation was conducted, and recommendations for future refinement were made. In the report of the 253rd committee meeting of the MOTC Road Safety Committee, 51 schools were prioritized for improvement based on an inventory of this plan.
2. Concerning the legislators’ “Plan for the Public Transportation Upgrade of Highways in North Kaohsiung” proposal, highway public transportation service issues in eight Kaohsiung districts were compiled and needs were clarified. Proposed were 12 short-term improvement plans, three medium-term improvement plans, and three long-term improvement plans. On behalf of the ministry, a draft letter was sent to the Legislative Yuan Transportation Committee.
3. The Kaohsiung-Pingtung-Penghu Regional Transport Research Center has worked with the local governments of Kaohsiung and Pingtung, as well as bus operators, to improve MeN Go services. Short-distance mode transfer effectiveness analysis was completed with a focus on the “MeN Go Relief Preferential Plan” from June to July 2022. Pricing and monthly pass plans for the future were also proposed. In terms of opportunities for expanding the MeN Go service scope in conjunction with developing the volume of freight demand for future MRT routes, two express bus routes in Kaohsiung and Pingtung were suggested. A consensus was reached to promote the inclusion of the Kaohsiung-Kenting Route Co-Operation Center routes into the service scope.
4. The Central Regional Center advised the Taichung City Government on how to promote the establishment of city bus companies for local social groups and individuals from remote Lishan towns. In order to improve the convenience of public transportation services, the planning and importation of a shared platform were also completed. From May to October 2022, the total number of passengers reached 4,800, with an average of 2.15 passengers per scheduled bus run.
5. The Eastern Region Center advised Hualien and Taitung local governments on how to collaborate with local creation groups. Tourism travel with cross-domain resources was developed in order to promote tribal tourism and enhance public transportation services in conjunction with bus services. Domestic university student groups, parent-child groups, and Malaysian passengers were encouraged to travel during the trial period in 2022.
6. On December 23, 2022, the Institute of Transportation and six regional centers held a “regional center joint results presentation.” It is anticipated that through six regional centers, the more intertwined exchanges and interactions of agency unit representatives, scholars, experts, and industrialists, the opinions of industry, government, and academia can be gathered. In turn, this results in the conceptualization of future public transportation service development and road safety improvement directions to meet the public’s transportation action needs and ensure passage safety, thereby serving as a reference for central and local governments.

Summary of Research Results

The Scope of counseling for Six Regional Centers and Schools Selected to Implement Different Phases of Regional Center Project