During the Lunar New Year holiday in Taiwan, there will be a surge in traffic on the highways as people travel back to their hometowns or go on trips. To alleviate congestion, the Taiwan Area National Freeway Bureau has implemented measures such as high occupancy controls, opening shoulders, and ramp metering. Central News Agency has compiled relevant information to help you avoid traffic jams and save travel time.
During the high occupancy control period, vehicles must display a “Highway High Occupancy Control Pass” or passengers must hold a pregnancy certificate, disability certificate, or small cars with 3 or more occupants to enter the national highways.
National Freeway No. 1
From January 31st to February 1st (3rd to 4th day of the Lunar New Year), northbound entrances from the Siaogang system to the Toufen interchange will be open from 1 pm to 6 pm daily.
National Freeway No. 3
From January 31st to February 1st (3rd to 4th day of the Lunar New Year), northbound entrances from the Guantian system to the Jhunan interchange will be open from 1 pm to 6 pm daily.
National Freeway No. 5
From January 30th to February 2nd (2nd to 5th day of the Lunar New Year), northbound entrances from Su’ao to Toucheng interchange will be open from 1 pm to 6 pm daily.
The Freeway Bureau stated that this Lunar New Year holiday spans 9 days, with the period from January 25th to 27th expected to see dispersed long-distance travel, while January 29th to February 2nd (1st to 5th day of the Lunar New Year) will be the peak period of the holiday.
National Freeway No. 1 and National Freeway No. 3
From January 29th to 31st, there will be heavy southbound traffic in the morning hours, with potential congestion in bottleneck sections of Taoyuan, Hsinchu, and Changhua.
From January 31st to February 2nd, there will be heavy northbound traffic in the afternoon, with potential congestion in bottleneck sections of Nantou, Changhua, Miaoli, Hsinchu, and Taoyuan. Particularly on January 31st to February 1st, the northbound sections of Hsinchu and Miaoli could even be congested until the early hours of the next day.
National Freeway No. 5
From January 29th to 31st, southbound traffic starts to build up from 5 am in the morning and continues until the afternoon.
From January 30th to February 2nd, northbound traffic starts to build up from 9 am in the morning and continues into the late night, even extending into the early hours of the next day.
The southbound entrances of Pingzhen and Puyan systems on National Freeway No. 1, and the southbound entrances of Shiding and Pinglin on National Freeway No. 5 will be closed from 5 am to 12 pm from January 29th to 31st.
The northbound entrances of Rende, Huwei on National Freeway No. 1, and the bidirectional entrance of Wangtian will be closed from 10 am to 6 pm from January 31st to February 2nd.
The Puyan system on National Freeway No. 1, and the west coast northbound entrance of National Freeway No. 3 will be closed from 12 pm to 0 am from January 31st to February 2nd.
A flat rate will be implemented from January 25th to February 2nd, with toll collection suspended daily from 12 am to 5 am from January 29th to February 2nd.
The stretch from Hsinchu system to Yanchao system on National Freeway No. 3 will have a flat rate and an additional 20% discount on tolls from January 29th to February 2nd.
To avoid traffic congestion, the Freeway Bureau recommends using the four long-distance alternative routes and seven short-distance alternative routes, along with using the 1968App to check traffic conditions and predict travel times to choose the appropriate route.
From January 24th to February 2nd, the Freeway Bureau will provide live updates on freeway conditions on their Facebook page “Highway Little Fly Power” at 8 am, 10 am, and 4 pm daily. For detailed information on alternative routes, you can visit the Freeway Bureau’s website.
Translated from Central News Agency.