Department of Transportation

Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an announced on June 28 that the city has been selected as one of the global finalists in the sixth Bloomberg Philanthropies Mayors Challenge, chosen from 630 city proposals worldwide. The Mayors Challenge this year aims to encourage cities to propose innovative solutions for municipal services that strengthen public service delivery. Through this competition, Taipei City will partner with the Bloomberg Philanthropies team on its proposal, “How to Introduce Smart Systems to Address Issues Arising from Bus Driver Shortages and Enhance Public Transportation Service Quality,” engaging in collaborative brainstorming with global experts and other finalist cities to generate innovative ideas.

Taipei City’s bus services cover the Taipei–New Taipei metropolitan area, serving approximately 6.5 million residents and carrying over 1 million passengers daily. Since 2020, bus driver staffing has been impacted by multiple factors—including the COVID-19 pandemic, an aging population, declining birth rates, and workplace stress—falling from 4,564 in 2019 to 3,652 in 2024, a substantial decrease of 912. Facing public transportation demand, the driver shortage has become an issue that must be actively addressed. Therefore, Taipei City submitted the proposal ‘How to Introduce Smart Systems to Address Issues Arising from Bus Driver Shortages and Improve Public Transportation Service Quality’ to this year’s Challenge. The proposal presents measures that utilize big data to optimize routes and schedules, provide passenger load information, and establish a bus academy to enhance training and professional development. The judges recognized its potential to address common challenges across cities. During the competition period, the Bloomberg Philanthropies will facilitate collaborative brainstorming sessions between experts and city teams to develop comprehensive improvement plans.

Bloomberg Philanthropies stated that a total of 630 cities submitted proposals in this year’s competition, fully reflecting the major challenges facing urban areas today. For example, one-third of the proposals from North America and Canada focus on housing and shelter issues; nearly half of the proposals from Africa aim to upgrade waste management; in the Asia-Pacific region, one out of every five applications addresses clean air, water resources, and infrastructure; while European applicant cities tend to emphasize social inclusion and poverty alleviation initiatives. In addition, the shortlisted cities were selected based on the innovativeness, impact potential, and feasibility of their ideas. Taipei City’s proposal combines technological innovation with institutional reform, reimagining how a city can deliver safe, reliable, and sustainable public transportation services to strengthen overall urban resilience.

Mayor Chiang Wan-an stated that since his first day in office, he and the city government team have continued to take on challenges while actively advancing smart transportation systems. Influenced by multiple factors—including the COVID-19 pandemic, population aging, declining birth rates, and workplace stress—the shortage of bus drivers has become a pressing challenge that must be actively addressed. Through this competition, the Taipei City Government team seeks solutions with more creative and bold proposals, not only to address Taipei’s own challenges but also to engage with cities around the world in tackling common issues, with the goal of building more stable and high-quality transportation services.

2025-06-28