Transportation Minister Chen Jian-yu says he hopes that freeway travel between Taipei and Luodong is limited to no more than 90 minutes over the coming holiday weekend. The route typically takes less than an hour but is notorious during holidays for its traffic jams. Traffic between Yilan and Taipei spread from the freeway to the ramps and access roads during the New Year’s holiday. Legislator Lee Kun-tse worries that a replay is in store this coming holiday weekend.Lee Kun-tseDPP LegislatorLast holiday, Taipei to Luodong set a record of seven hours. What is the maximum traffic time you are hoping for this time?Chen Jian-yuTransportation MinisterThe time you just quoted includes local roads. I would hope for the maximum time from Taipei to Luodong to be no more than 90 minutes.Bus operators offered a similar prediction.Hung Yu-pingKamalan BusTypically, it takes us 65 to 70 minutes to get passengers to Yilan. If it’s a long holiday, you should expect an additional 30 to 40 minutes. The average time spent traveling to Yilan would be 90 to 110 minutes.To reduce traffic, the Ministry of Transportation will suspend toll collection between midnight and 5 am over the four-day holiday. And to encourage carpooling, occupancy restrictions on National Freeway No. 5 will be in place on the first two days of the holiday for southbound travel and the second two days for northbound travel.
