Department of Transportation

To provide timely responses to passengers’ bus-related questions, enhance the convenience of riding buses, and reduce bus drivers’ workload, the Taipei Joint Bus Management Committee and the New Taipei City Public Bus Operators Association have introduced artificial intelligence (AI) into bus services. On August 11, 2025, they launched the nation’s first “Taipei–New Taipei AI Bus Station Manager” – “Station Manager Ah-Ming.” Passengers can interact with Ah-Ming using natural, conversational language to quickly obtain information about bus services, making riding the bus simpler. At the same time, this reduces the need for passengers to ask drivers directly, helping drivers focus more on driving. Although the “Taipei–New Taipei AI Bus Station Manager” has been initially developed, it still requires ongoing training to improve the accuracy of its responses. Everyone is welcome to experience it, interact with Station Manager Ah-Ming, and help train the AI together.

Passengers often encounter common questions when taking buses, such as which route to take, whether they are waiting at the correct stop, which stop to get off, fares, payment methods, or lost and found issues. These uncertainties may lead passengers to forgo taking the bus or ask the driver directly upon boarding, creating extra workload for drivers. To provide timely responses to passengers’ bus-related questions, the Taipei City Department of Transportation, New Taipei City Department of Transportation, and Taipei Public Transport Office proposed the concept of an AI-powered virtual bus station manager. They guided the Taipei Joint Bus Management Committee and the New Taipei City Public Bus Operators Association to develop the “Taipei–New Taipei AI Bus Station Manager” – “Station Manager Ah-Ming.” Using generative AI technologies, the system was trained with frequently asked passenger questions, bus routes, estimated arrival times, stop locations, and other bus-related information to understand user inquiries and generate appropriate responses.

Passengers can ask questions in natural, conversational language and receive real-time information while waiting for the bus, improving convenience without needing to ask the driver on board. Currently, Station Manager Ah-Ming supports bilingual voice interaction in Mandarin and English, providing the following services:

1. Bus route planning inquiries
2. Estimated arrival time inquiries
3. Bus departure schedule inquiries
4. Route stop information inquiries
5. Other bus-related inquiries (e.g., lost and found assistance, passenger service information)

The “Taipei–New Taipei AI Bus Station Manager” – “Station Manager Ah-Ming” will be available for public interaction through two formats: a physical kiosk and QR code access. Locations in Taipei include the “City Hall Bus Transfer Station” (physical kiosk + QR code) and “Taipei Main Station (Zhengzhou side, eastbound)” (QR code only). In New Taipei City, it will appear at the “Banqiao Bus Station” (physical kiosk + QR code) and “MRT Tamsui Station” (QR code only). The pop-up event runs from August 11 to August 17, 2025, daily from 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM. During the event, the public can interact with Station Manager Ah-Ming via the physical kiosk or scan the QR code to ask questions (QR code usage is limited to the event locations). Although Station Manager Ah-Ming has been initially developed, ongoing training is still required to improve the accuracy of responses. Everyone is encouraged to visit, interact with Ah-Ming, and help train the AI system.

Additionally, please be reminded that “Station Manager Ah-Ming” will never ask you to perform the following actions on your mobile device. You can safely use the service and avoid potential scams:

1. Provide personal information, bank account numbers, or passwords.
2. Join unknown LINE groups or social media accounts.
3. Scan suspicious QR codes or visit unknown external websites.

2025-08-11