Taipei City Government

The latest issue of the UK Magazine Monocle published the 2022 ranking on the most livable city. Taipei City came in tenth place among the cities on the list. The only other Asian city making it to the top ten is Tokyo.
 
The magazine shared some of the elements that helped Taipei City secure this honor, including: a convenient mass transit system; relatively few delays to bus and train services; over 1,000 shared bicycle rental spots; continued expansion of the metro train system, and more.
 
However, the report also noted that there is still room for improvement in terms of pedestrian safety, despite significant advances in pedestrian’s right-of-way concept over the past years. According to statistics from the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, there were a total of 594 injuries and deaths from traffic accidents in Taipei City between January and March, 2022. This is a 2.5% drop compared with the same period in 2021. Among the victims, 206 individuals are 65 or older, which is 14 less people than last year’s number (a drop of 6.4%).
 
Further analysis by Taipei City Police Department (TCPD) show that the main causes of traffic incident involving pedestrians during this period include: drivers violating the pedestrian crossway; drivers not paying attention to the road ahead, and pedestrian jaywalking.
 
According to statistics from the Traffic Division of TCPD, police officers cited a total of 8,455 cases related to drivers’ violation of pedestrian’s right-of-way and 14,011 cases of pedestrian violations. The agency calls upon drivers to slow down and remain alert when they approach pedestrian crossings.
 
Road users should implement the guideline of “drivers should slow, look, and stop, while pedestrians should stop, look, and listen” when approaching pedestrian crossings, thereby helping to create a safer traffic environment for all.