The Taiwan Traffic “Spectacular” – A New Perspective
Article by Yu-Tsen Pai
This article is a short interview with my friend, John Wang, who is a person with physical disability. This series of questions address his experiences as a road user in Taiwan.
Yu-Tsen (YT): Please briefly introduce yourself and describe your physical disability.
John: My name is John. I have problems with my muscles and joints. Although I still have normal sensation, I am unable to move my arms and legs. Thus, I always move around places in a wheelchair.
YT: My idea of discussing the traffic in Taiwan and how it affects people with physical disabilities comes from reading an article last December, which sparked conversations among the Taiwanese people. It talks about how life-threatening it is for pedestrians to get around in Taiwan. Meanwhile, you shared that your wheelchair was once blocked by a telephone pole on the sidewalk. And that was just one example. If Taiwan’s traffic is already a “living hell” even for people without physical disabilities, this problem must have troubled you more than it has for others.
YT: Overall, what are your thoughts about the article? Are there paragraphs that you resonate with a lot or disagree with?
John: The article accurately describes the traffic “spectacle” in Taiwan. The fact that Taiwan is so proud of being a developed country, while its road safety is undoubtedly comparable to many developing countries, demonstrates to its citizens the urgency for self-reflection. In the article, it talks about how frequently people carrying a stroller or wheelchair users encounter obstacles on sidewalks. I can totally relate to that. What’s worse for us is that a lot of sidewalks are not accessible. Often, you would see a ramp on one side of the sidewalks or “qilou” but nothing on the other side of them.
YT: We met each other in high school in Hualien. This year is your fourth year studying college in Taipei. How would you rate people’s friendliness toward people with disabilities in the two cities, with Hualien being a rural area and Taipei being the country’s capital? Do you feel safer in the well-developed city than in the relatively undeveloped rural area?
John: Yes and no. In a way, it is still dangerous to get around in the city. In Taipei, the infrastructure and the traffic designs are indeed more thoughtful for all road users, allowing people with disabilities to get around easily and comfortably. However, the facilities are still not intact enough to ensure pedestrians’ safety (e.g., being "forced" to move onto car lanes due to obstacles on the sidewalks). In rural areas, on the other hand, the road environment is so hostile that I feel trapped at home. Because going out means higher chances of getting into a traffic accident, I stay at home most of the time. Thus, it is not that Hualien is safer to get around. I just do not dare to go out and risk my life, which is very ironic.
YT: Compared to Hualien, there is the rapid transit system, Metro Taipei, and the bus system with good coverage in Taipei. Undoubtedly, public transportation can improve traffic by reducing the number of cars and scooters on the street. Does good public transportation matter to you as its user and a road user?
John: As a user of public transportation, it matters because I am able to go to more places. For example, as you mentioned, both Metro Taipei and the bus system in Taipei have good coverage, plus most buses are low-floor. In terms of physical resources, public transportation does help people who move around in a wheelchair. In comparison, back in high school, I spent time mostly around my house in a small village of Hualien because there was only one low-floor bus every week to downtown, which was ten minutes away by driving. Other times, I had to take an accessible taxi to downtown, which was more expensive and rare.
YT: You double major in political science and law in college. From these perspectives, what do you think about how Taiwan barely addresses the root causes, such as road design and transportation planning, but keeps having police give endless traffic tickets and hopes to solve the problem?
John: There was a video on social media a while ago about how to distinguish Japanese and Taiwanese on the street easily. In the video, it showed that only Taiwanese pedestrians would walk with extreme caution and stop at a green signal because vehicles constantly violated traffic laws and failed to respect pedestrians. Apparently, people in Taiwan are not educated enough to prioritize pedestrians over vehicles. Rules and punishments are executions that merely touch on the surface level. If society, especially policymakers, does not start from educating the people and redesigning pedestrian-friendly roads, the same problems would continue to occur as the root causes remain.
YT: In your opinion, how can Taiwan address the problem? Is there a country or a city that you think Taiwan (as an island country with high population density and outdated infrastructure) can take as a model?
John: I have not traveled abroad in my life. But based on the literature that I read, I believe that would be Japan.
YT: How far is Taiwan from reaching a universal design? How can society raise people’s awareness rather than leaving individuals in the minority group to fight for change, which can be frustrating?
John: First and foremost, education. As we have seen how people’s attitudes changed toward gender and LGBTQ+ equalities over the years, particularly among younger generations, we need to educate people about individuals with disabilities. The topic should be covered in our curriculum, along with the establishment of committees of related expertise. When assessing the infrastructure and road designs, there should be people with disabilities and experts in universal design involved. In that way, the planning process would be more inclusive. In addition to professional opinions from multiple perspectives, reinforcing education among ordinary people could make friendly traffic possible for everyone.
This is the end of the interview.
Article mentioned
Taiwan's 'living hell' traffic is a tourism problem, say critics
Similar articles written in Traditional Chinese
台灣最不美麗的風景，是交通：我沒有倒在香港，卻差一點倒在蘇花公路上
