To provide citizens living in Dajia, Waipu and Houli with access to the city centre within onehour, the Transportation Bureau of Taichung City Government has newly developed bus route No. 651 to connect coastal suburbs to Beitun District, Yizhong Shopping District, Taichung Municipal Taichung Girls' Senior High School, other transportation facilities and schools in the city center via freeway. The purposes are to facilitate easy commute for people living along the coastline; and to alleviate the demand for direct bus from Dajia Da'an and Waipu to the city center during peak hours. Route 651 will be launched on March 23 and the public is welcome to use it.
Director General of Transportation Bureau Yeh Chao-Fu expresses routes No. 154, 157, 658 and 659 currently provide direct bus services to the city center for citizens living in Dajia and Waipu via freeway. However, as passengers are not legally allowed to stand on the bus when travelling on the freeway, some citizens living along the coastline may encounter the problem of not being able to get on the bus during peak hours. Therefore, apart from asking bus service providers to increase the number of services on bus routes, the Bureau also continues to monitor the current traffic situation of the bus services and does dynamic planning on launching new bus routes.
The Bureau expresses that the new route No. 651 connecting Dajia District Office and Taichung Municipal Taichung Girls' Senior High School departs from Dajia District Office; passes through Dajia Train Station, bus stops along Jiahou Road, Waiput District Office, Houshen Road, National Freeway No. 4, National Freeway No.1, Daya Interchange, Zhongqing Road, Songzhu Road, Chongde Road, MRT Wenxin Chongde Station, China Medical University, Yizhong Shopping District, Taichung Train Station; and then arrives at Taichung Municipal Taichung Girls' Senior High School. To enhance the bus service capacity during peak hours, the bus route stops at all stops along the coastline and major bus stops in the city center.
The Bureau explains that route No. 651 operated by CTbus departs at fixed times. The weekday operating hours are 5:35 to 19:50 for buses departing from Dajia Office; and 7:10 to 21:30 for buses departing from Taichung Municipal Taichung Girls' Senior High School. The holiday operating hours are 6:30 to 19:50 for buses departing from Dajia Office; and 8:10 to 21:30 for buses departing from Taichung Municipal Taichung Girls' Senior High School. In addition, to enable citizens of all groups to enjoy the direct bus service, please note that route No. 651 is equipped with accessible vehicles for wheelchair accessibility.
The Bureau adds that route No. 651 will be launched on March 23. For detailed information about the bus service, please visit the “Taichung City Real-Time Bus Information” website (http://citybus.taichung.gov.tw/ebus), download the Taichung Bus APP on the official website of Transportation Bureau of Taichung City Government (https://is.gd/MTPvdg), or dial the free hotline “1999” if you have any questions or concerns.