Bus schedule changes are a fact of life in Taipei, where more than 390 million bus trips are taken each year. But the way these changes are announced has left some commuters frustrated. Schedule updates are often made in tiny print on small notices, which are stuck high up on bus stop posts. One local councilor criticizes the approach, saying you shouldn’t need to be tall or strain your eyes just to catch a bus.

Taipei City has a dense bus network, and navigating it can be daunting. Riders say that one big hurdle is the tiny notices that go up when there are changes to bus schedules and frequency.

A small note crammed with text is taped to the bus stop sign. It’s stuck so high up that it’s barely noticeable.

Member of public
If you’re young you might be able to read it. But I can’t.

Member of public
The print is too small. It’s not clear at all. And who would look up? You don’t know what it is and you’d just assume it’s an ad.

Chen Jou-an
FTV reporter
We’re here at a bus stop to create a scenario. The notice is up on the stop sign. If you look up from below, you wouldn’t be able to make it out properly. Want to pull the paper down for a closer look? I’m stretching my arm out, but it’s too high out of reach.

To keep up with the latest schedule changes, you’d have to be tall and eagle-eyed. A councilor says these notices test the limits of human faculties.

Chen Yi-chun
Taipei City councilor (DPP)
Visitors from outside Taipei say the font is too small and the note too far up. They wonder, “Is it because Taipei people are tall?” “Is their eyesight that good?” The notices should take ergonomics into account. Taking the bus shouldn’t depend on passing a physical test.

Voice of Ho Yu-ting
Taipei City Public Transportation Office official
Perhaps the placement of the notice isn’t appropriate. We will ask operators to review this issue.

Current regulations require that notices be placed at the lower edge of bus signs, or on the announcement board of bus shelters. The city’s transport office says it will conduct public information campaigns about the notices, and ask operators to use larger fonts so that the updates are easier to read.

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