Sid Weng
Goo goo g' joob.
What you need to know
The new Taipei MRT signs will mark each station with the acronym of the color of the MRT line along with a number. If the station is at the intersection of two metro lines, it will have two numbers. Take Taipei Main Station for example; it is on the intersection of Tamsui-Xinyi Line (red line) and Bannan Line (blue line) so it will be labeled as R10 and BL12.
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Foreign travelers may be confused by the Chinese characters, Pinyin and English-labeled signs in the five lines and 117 stations of the Taipei MRT.
Taipei City Councilor Huang Shan-shan recently suggested at the city council that the Taipei MRT should reference the subway systems in other countries and mark each MRT route with colors and each station with numbers to help foreigners identify the signs more easily.
In response, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je and the general manager of Taipei MRT, Yen Bang-jie, have promised to inquire the feasibility of this system. They expect to calculate the budget and implement the idea within two years.
On November 29, the Taipei City Government posted on its city forum page, saying the new Taipei MRT signs will mark each station with the acronym of the color of the line along with a number. The coding sequence starts from south to north and west to east, so foreign tourists no longer have to rely on the Pinyin system to memorize the name of the stations or to identify directions.
If the station is at the intersection of two metro lines, it will have two numbers. Take Taipei Main Station for example; it is on the intersection of the Tamsui-Xinyi Line (red line) and the Bannan Line (blue line), so it will be labeled as R10 and BL12.
Liberty Times reports, this coding system has been carried out in Tokyo for several years and the Kaohsiung MRT also uses the same program, which allows passengers to better understand the position and orientation of each MRT station.
Taipei MRT expects to leave the discussion regarding the coding system on Facebook for two months, and the whole plan will be implemented before the opening of the Universiade (World University Games) in August 2017.
Apple Daily reports, Taipei MRT says that the alteration includes reprinting the MRT maps and every sign. This is a lot of work and the company hopes all industries can provide advice to help perfect the plan.
Translated by June
Edited by Olivia Yang
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