Increase in road, rail traffic seen as Taiwanese return home to vote
Jan 13, 2024
Taipei [Taiwan], January 13 : As polls open in Taiwan to elect its new president, an upsurge in rail and road traffic was evidently seen on Friday as Taiwanese returned home to cast their ballots for its presidential and legislative elections, reported Taiwan News.
Although many Taiwanese people are listed as residents of occasionally isolated villages in mountainous regions or on small islands, many of them live, work, or attend school in the nation's larger cities.
Similar to significant holidays, elections cause a bus or rail exodus from the cities.
According to Radio Taiwan International (RTI), the Taiwan Railway Corporation (TRC) projected that up to 758,000 passengers will ride trains each day. This would be more than in the local elections of 2022 and the presidential election of 2020.
According to the firm, 83 more train routes have been introduced between January 12 -15, and 53 per cent of the tickets have already been sold.
Reservations were also being accepted by TRC for the February 8-14 Lunar New Year holiday, which is another busy time of year.
According to CNA, there were 5 per cent more cars on the road than there would be on a typical Friday night after work. Traffic is predicted to be 3 per cent heavier on Saturday, January 13, than it usually is. The peak hour is anticipated to be between 9 and 10 a.m, according to Taiwan News.
Moreover, a special bus service has been launched, aimed at taking young and first-time voters home to cast their ballots in Taiwan. According to Taiwanese Media over two million Taiwanese live overseas, and thousands of them have also made the long journey back home to vote in the election.
The voting process is taking place between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. in the nation. Nearly 19.5 million people are eligible to vote.
