Taipei, like most Asian metropolis such as Bangkok, Shanghai and Hong Kong, used to be known to visitors for their excruciating traffic jams. I didn't experience any on this trip, (okay, maybe once and that was because I was in a car!), thanks to the new MRT (Mass Rapid Transit) system. My sister owns an apartment in Danshui where I stayed in Taipei. In the old days, before 1996 when the MRT first started operation, "going to Danshui" was equivalent to "going to the San Juan's", you don't just jump up and go - it is a trip you have to plan for and it takes half a day just to get there. Now it takes 50 minutes from Danshui to Taipei's main train station where you can choose from hundreds of buses and trains (including the high-speed train) to other parts of Taipei and Taiwan.
The MRT is often, fast and clean. It has announcement in Mandarin, Taiwanese, Hakka and English. No beverages and food are allowed and passengers are "reminded" to talk gently on their cell phones and watch their steps when they embark. There are four routes which cover extensively huge areas of Taipei. You can buy a single ticket but I'd recommend getting a transit card which is like a debit card and you can buy in any amount and add more as needed. It will save you lots of time and it is good for all public buses in Taipei. Before I left Taiwan the company (Taipei Rapid Transit Company) is announcing that you can use the card at places like the 7/11 too!
For more information on MRT, check out Wikipedia and the MRT official web site www.trtc.com.tw. Be sure to choose English so you don't think I'm pulling your leg thinking you can read Chinese characters.
After I posted the Kitsap Airporter yesterday and as I am writing the MRT today, I can't help thinking about just how screwed-up and backward the public transport system is in the U.S. (New York might be the only exception) And how this "car culture" mentality got us in trouble on so many levels. I was telling a friend who responded to my post yesterday on alternative transport to the airport that my 84-year-old mother and her girlfriend who is close to 90 take buses all the time and that is one thing I noticed about Taiwan - you see old people out about and are fully engaged in life. That has such a positive and uplifting effect on the society as we can see our own future: not as a burden but happy, independent members of the society. I think the Mayor of Seattle should send a delegation to Taipei and maybe they will learn a few things about "serving the people".
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