Taipei, June 8 (CNA) Taipei will begin next year to charge towing and storage fees for impounded bicycles, the city's Department of Transportation announced Thursday.
The charges will take effect on Jan. 1, 2018, announced Chang Jer-yang, head of the department. The towing fee will stand at NT$100 (US$3.32) per bike, with the storage fee set at NT$25 per 12 hours, he said.
No storage fee will be levied if an impounded bike is reclaimed within one hour of towing, said Chang.
Charging impounded bikes with towing and storage fees is because bikes have no license plates, therefore it is impossible to fine the owner for illegal parking, the Department of Transporation said.
There are three storage yards for towed bikes in Taipei, situated in the parking area of Long Men Junior High School in Da'an District and Wan Hua Junior High School in Wan Hua District, and the Fuyuan storage yard in Songshan District, according to the department.
It said each towed bike will be photographed and affixed with a barcode.
Those wanting to reclaim their bicycle will have to show their ID card and the key for the bike lock.
Any bicycles left unclaimed at a storage yard for more than one month will be relocated by the Department of Environmental Protection after three months of public notification of its unclaimed status.
After that they will be put up for public auction, the city's Department of Transportation said.
Currently there are 13 towing locations targeting bicycles parked illegally. They include the Technology Building, Dongmen, Da'an, Guting, Zhongshan Junior High School, and Yuanshan metro stations, and the No. 1 exit of the Taipower Building metro station, the department said.
Others are on Roosevelt Road Section 4, Songshan Railway Station, the Daxue community of Da'an District, Wanhua District Office, the eastern side of Roosevelt Road, and Heping East Road Section 2, Lane 118.
