Transport and Driving in Taiwan | Expat Arrivals

Taiwan is a small country that is connected by comprehensive and affordable bus and rail services. Transport in Taiwanese cities is excellent and Taipei, ... Skiptomaincontent Breadcrumb Home Asia-Pacific Taiwan MovingEmbassyContactsPublicHolidaysProsandConsofMovingSafetyCostofLivingMoneyandTaxesTransportandDrivingExpatExperiencesExpatArticlesCultureShockHealthcareKeepinginTouchFrequentlyAskedQuestionsExpatBlogsRelocationCompaniesWeatherWorkingDoingBusinessVisasWorkPermitsAccommodationCitiesTaipei TransportandDrivinginTaiwan ExpatHealthInsuranceQuotes Taiwanisasmallcountrythatisconnectedbycomprehensiveandaffordablebusandrailservices.TransportinTaiwanesecitiesisexcellentandTaipei,wheremostforeignerslive,evenboastsametrosystem. Thepublictransportsystemisreliable,affordableandeasilyaccessible,soexpatsshouldhavenoproblem gettingaroundinTaiwan.  PublictransportinTaiwan Buses TherearebusesthattravelalmosteverymainstreetinTaiwan.They’reclean, safeandrunoften.TakingthebusinTaiwanisapracticalandsafewaytogetaroundtowninexpensively.They'realso apopularmeans fortravellerswhowanttogettosmallerormoreruraldestinations.ThereareavarietyofbusestochoosefromwiththemostpopularbeingtheTaiwanTouristShuttlewhichcoversmorethan42busroutes.BuscompaniesusuallyhaveofficesnearthetrainstationsinmostTaiwanesecities. Trains Onecantakethetraineasilyfromcitytocity.ThetrainsinTaiwaneseurbancentresrunfrequentlyandare cheap.TheannouncementsareinbothMandarinandEnglish,asareallthe signs. Theexpresstrain,Tze-Chiang,isthemostcomfortableandfastestwaytotravelaround Taiwan.Itisalsothemostexpensive.Ticketsshouldbebookedinadvance,especiallywhenoneplansontravellingoveraweekendorpublicholiday. Forlong-distancetravelling,Taiwanhasahigh-speedrailsystem(HSR).Inalittleovertwohours,onecantravelthewholelengthoftheisland.Thetrainis modernbutcanbeexpensive.  TrainstationsinthelargercitiesinTaiwanusuallyhavetouristinformationcounterswithEnglish-speakingstaff.Mostcashiersatticketboothswillunderstandforeignerswhentheyspeakslowly,and buyingtrainticketsshouldthereforebequitestraightforward. TaxisinTaiwan TherearetaxiservicesinmostcitiesinTaiwan.Taxisaremeteredandfaresarecheap.FaresdifferfromcitytocitybutnomatterwhereinTaiwananexpatislocatedthecostoftakingataxiismuchcheaperthaninWesterncountries. Taxidriversoftendon'tspeakEnglishandexpatsshouldthereforehave theirdestinationwrittendowninMandarin.AllofthetaxicompaniesinTaiwanhaveanappthatcanbedownloadedfromtheAppStore.Expatscanusetheapptohailataxi,ortheycancallthedesignatedtaxicompanynumber.UberisalsoavailableinTaiwan butonlyincertaincities,namelyTaipei,Taichung,Kaohsiung,TaoyuanandHsinchu.   DrivinginTaiwan DrivinginTaiwanisdifficult due tothechaoticnatureofthelocaldrivingculture. It'scommonforotherdriverstodisobeytrafficlawsanddrivedangerously.InTaipei,trafficlawsareenforcedanddrivingthereissafeandeasy.Thatsaid,outsideofTaipei,thisisgenerallynotthenorm.Scootersalsotendtoweaveinandoutoftraffic,whichcanresultinaccidents.  Aninternationaldriver’slicencecanbeusedinTaiwan and,forthosewhoplanonlivinginthecountry,it isvalidfor30days,afterwhichnewarrivalsmustobtainaTaiwanesedriver'slicense.Taiwanhasreciprocallicenseagreementswithcertaincountries.MembersofthesecountriescanobtainaTaiwaneselicensewithouttakingadrivingtest. Otherwise,expatsnotfromthesecountrieswillneed topasstheTaiwanesedrivingtest,whichcanbetakeninEnglish. AirtravelinTaiwan Therearefour internationalairportsinTaiwan. TaiwanTaoyuanInternationalAirportisfor thenorthernpartoftheislandandKaohsiungInternationalAirport caterstothesouthernpartoftheisland.While TaichungInternationalAirportand SongshanAirport alsoflyinternationally,they onlyflytocertaindestinationsinAsia. TherearealsomanylocalairportswhereonecanbookaflighttoanywhereinTaiwan,includingtheislandsoutintheStraitofTaiwan. Furtherreading ►ReadWorkinginTaiwanforinformationaboutthejobmarket ►Fortransportoptionsinthecapital,read GettingAroundinTaipei ExpatInterviews "Thetransportationisamazing.NameitandTaiwanhasgotit.Therearefreebusesandbikes,therearehigh-speedtrainsandinnermountainareatrainsaswellasmetrosystems,andofcoursealotofUbersandtaxis.Taiwanhasalsoinvestedinmanygreeninitiativeswhichwillseetheuseofmoreelectricbusesandcars.MymostmemorableexperiencewasdefinitelyfindingoutthatIcangetfrompointAtoBforfree!"ReadmoreaboutMelanie'sexpatexperiencesinTaiwan. AreyouanexpatlivinginTaiwan? ExpatArrivalsislookingforlocalstocontributetothisguide,andanswerforumquestionsfromothersplanningtheirmovetoTaiwan.Pleasecontactusifyou'dliketocontribute. ExpatHealthInsurance CignaGlobal CignaGlobalcantailoraninternationalhealthinsuranceplantoperfectlyfittheneedsofyouandyourfamily.With86millioncustomersinover200countries,CignaGlobalhasunrivalledexperienceindealingwithvariedanduniquemedicalsituationsanddeliveringhighstandardsofservicewhereveryouliveintheworld. GetaquotefromCignaGlobal MovingCompanies MovingInternationally? Sirelohasanetworkofmorethan500internationalremovalcompaniesthatcanmoveyourfurnitureandpossessionstoyournewhome.Byfillinginaform,you’llgetupto5quotesfromrecommendedmovers.Thisserviceisfreeofchargeandwillhelpyouselectaninternationalmovingcompanythatsuitsyourneedsandbudget. Getyourfreeno-obligationquotesnow! InternationalRemovalQuotes TransferringMoneyAbroad? ExpatHealthInsuranceQuotes InternationalRemovalQuotes TransferringMoneyAbroad? Gotaquestion? Jointhediscussion BecomeAnExpert Becomeourlocalexpatexpertforyourarea!Wearelookingforcontributorstohelpmakethistheultimateguideforexpats.Getintouchifyoucanprovideusefulinfoonyourcityoranswerforumquestionsfromnewexpats.WriteforExpatArrivals RelatedQuestionsforTaiwan HowtomovetotaiwanwithaTaiwanesepassport CanIgetinfoonworkingasapsychologistandstartingaprivatepracticeinTaiwan? WhatarethebestoptionsforhealthinsuranceinTaiwan? WorkpermitfortrailingspouseinTaiwan MedicalinfoonjobapplicationsinTaiwan StockbrokerrecommendationsinTaiwan? DoIneedadegreetoworkasEnglishteacherinTaiwan? HighSchoolScholarshipinTaiwan/LivingaloneinTaiwanasateenager? ElectricalTradeWholesalersinTaiwan? DoesmedicaltestforTaiwanworkvisaincludehepatitisBcheck? 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