New Taipei is scheduled to officially launch the “YouBike 2.0” system, an upgraded version of the public bicycle rental service, in October, the city government said Monday.
Some 700 rental sites on the upgraded system will be completed by the end of the year by the contractor Youbike Co., Ltd., according to the city’s Transportation Department.
On Monday, the department’s head Chung Ming-shih (???) helped install a bicycle parking rack in the city’s first YouBike 2.0 station near City Hall on Xinfu Rd. in Banqiao, as he announced the upgrade.
New Taipei’ YouBike 1.0 system currently has a total of 659 rental and parking sites, which will all be converted for YouBike 2.0, while some new ones will be established, Chung said.
Some of the sites will be near MRT stations and lines, he said, adding that in the long term, New Taipei hopes to have some 1,500 YouBike 2.0 stations.
All of the services in New Taipei’s YouBike system will be compatible with those in Taipei, which have already been upgraded to 2.0, and also with the 1.0 system in Taoyuan, Chung said.
New Taipei’s YouBike 2.0 rental system will be launched on Oct. 20, with 500 to 1,000 bikes, according to the transportation department.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel