Department of Transportation

The rental frequency of Taipei City’s publicly-shared YouBike is approximately 60,000 times a day, with each rented bike used 12 times, on average, within 24 hours. The City’s Department of Transportation (DOT) vows to closely monitor the YouBike maintenance procedure to ensure that Taipei residents enjoy a high-quality cycling experience.
DOT said YouBike has won city-wide acclaim since its debut, citing a 2013 survey that found 90% of the users satisfied with this bike rental program. To meet the growing demand for YouBike, DOT not only plans to offer 190 rental stations by late 2014, but also has launched a joint YouBike rental program with New Taipei City’s Transportation Department, which will consider further expansion according to the trial-phase results of this cross-city partnership. For enhanced bike-scheduling efficiency, DOT urged the YouBike operator to make “easy drop-off of bikes” its top priority. The latest statistics show the number of 20-minute time slots where YouBike racks were fully occupied, hence the difficulties in dropping off a rented bike, is 39 per week, a 65% decrease from the January level of 110.
In response to complaints about YouBike malfunctions, DOT explained that the shared bikes are rented a staggering 60,000 times a day (with each rented bike used 12 times in 24 hours, on average), and it has instructed the operator to step up maintenance and quality-control efforts by inspecting all the bikes within two weeks, and recalling the flawed ones, if any. Users, DOT said, should give the bike a quick pre-rental check-up and, once there is a glitch, return it within 5 minutes to the original station free of charge (In that case, the “no lease within 15 minutes at the same station” policy does not apply). Instructions to expedite the repair of YouBike, such as reversing the seat of a malfunctioning bike and calling 1999, are already available on the rental station kiosks, websites and brochures. If an error code shows when renting or returning a YouBike, the user is supposed to read the rack labels and follow the instructions accordingly. For payment-related issues, please contact the YouBike customer service staff.

2014-05-26