How to Commute in Hsinchu

With the announcement of the final stage of the planning phase of the Light Rail line in Hsinchu, I could not stop myself from writing a short article about the current state of public transport in the hometown of two great Taiwanese universities: National Tsing Hua University and National Yang-ming Chiao Tung University.

First, I would like to get something off my chest. This article is written from a European point of view. I am fully aware that, in general, public transportation in Europe is on a much different level from the rest of the world. In my opinion, it would be rather unfair to compare apples to oranges. Hence, I will try my best to compare Hsinchu to cities in Taiwan where I lived and experienced the ups and downs of the daily commute - Taipei and Kaohsiung. With that off my chest, let's get back to how to move around Hsinchu.

Long story short, the easy answer to what is the best way to commute in the city is scooter or car. As much as I hate to answer straight away, Hsinchu's public transport is relatively poor. The only options are buses (and a few rent-a-bike stations). Their routes follow the most critical points like the city centre, the universities (National Tsing Hua University and National Yang-ming Chiao Tung University), the central train station (Hsinchu Train Station), Big City, and Zhubei city centre.

As lovely as it sounds, the reality of the situation is most people opt out of the communal form of transportation. The reasons are straightforward – the buses come in rarely, often late or early (because of the massive traffic jams in a smaller city), and don't offer much in the savings area (compared to scooters).

For a quick comparison, in Taipei, one can enjoy many options: multiple MRT lines, trains, a very intricate, well-developed and cheap net of buses, scooter and car-sharing apps and dozens of rent-a-bike stations. In Kaohsiung, the buses do not fare as well, but the two MRT lines and one tram line make up for the buses' lack.

Getting back to Hsinchu, The news of the Light Rail stirred up a conversation both in private and in public debate. Everybody is talking about it because if it actually happens and it seems the plans are finally coming to the realisation phase) citizens of Hsinchu will have an option to cross the entire city (East-West) at the very hearts of the area (Hsinchu downtown, Guangfu Road, Hsinchu Science Park).

For now, I am sad to say, most people don't have an option to stop polluting the environment and are forced to choose scooters or cars. You can count me in that group as a proud scooter owner. As an international student, I cannot afford to purchase and maintain a car (which is extremely expensive compared to less than 250cc scooters or motorcycles). As much as I know I would have enjoyed the Light Rail a lot, I am sure my time in Hsinchu will be over before then. So, for now, I hop back on my scooter, and off I go!