YouBike is going to serve people in Yuanlin, as a continuation of Changhua - the next station of happiness. On June 24, the press conference “Yuanlin Public Bicycle Installation and Contract Signing” will be held in the square of Yuanlin Rail Station. Mr. Cho Po-yuan, the County Magistrate and King Liu, the President of Giant will co-sponsor the event. In the early stage, YouBike service will be offered in 15 stations around the County Office. The stations are estimated to be finished in December, providing 450 public bikes for people’s convenience. Magistrate Cho announced that the next station will be set up at Lukang, and the eight major living spheres in Changhua in the near future.
Magistrate Cho expressed that it is the plan of the Changhua County government promote the green transportation policy and construct a low-carbon city. To fulfill this goal, the county government collaborated with Giant to establish the “Public Bike Rental System” at Changhua, which is projected to be an exemplar of the policy. After the trial operation in May 22, the rotation rate was around 8.3 rounds with more than 260 thousand users in the past two months, more than the population of Changhua - 236 thousand, winning the recognition and support from local residents and visitors. Considering the fact that Yuanlin is the center of Changhua, the development in the old town has been saturated. In the past few years, with the endeavor of the County Government Team, the readjustment district with the area of 184 hectares in Yuanlin is completed. It provides 69 hectares of land for the construction of new public facilities, such as parks, green zones, and schools. In addition, the elevated railway is going to be operated very soon. In the future, the development in the Yuanlin area will be prompt and versatile. As the next stop of YouBike - The Next Station of Happiness in Changhua, Yuanlin is going to provide public bike service to the people and visitors to augment the effects of air pollution prevention and supplement the inadequacy of bus services. With the launching of YouBike, people will enjoy the convenience of traveling around town, shopping, going to school, commuting, sports going, and sightseeing. To fulfill all these goals and serve the people, YouBike in Yuanlin will be connected to the public bike system in Changhua and Taichung so that people can travel around central Taiwan freely.
According to the plan, the bike rental kiosks will be set up in major spots, such as the rail station, bus stations, institutions, schools, and tourist resorts, These spots can further connect to the mixed commercial-residential area, business zones, and major transportation channels. The distance between each station is about 400m-1000m, connecting to the readjustment district with the area of 184 hectares in Yuanlin is completed. It provides 69 hectares of land for the construction of new public facilities, such as parks, green zones, and schools, as well as the 30m outer ring green expressway and the elevated railroad.
When this system is completed in the future, the high quality “Smiling YouBike” will continue to serve the public. Providing high volume bike rental service, people can sign up in 3 minutes and complete the rental and return procedure in 1 second. In the preliminary stage, the first 30 minutes is free. The bikes will be charged at the rates of Changhua YouBike after the first 30 minutes. For every 30 minutes, the rent is NT$10 within the first 4 hours; NT$20 for every 30 minutes from 4 to 8 hours; and NT$40 for every 30 minutes after 8 hours. Of course, the bikes must be comfortable, easy to ride, and withstand the weather, such as sunshine and rainfall. Taking people to enjoy the local delicacies and culture in Yuanlin, both local residents and visitors will be benefitted from convenience and fun of “riding YouBikes to decrease carbon emissions.”