Taipei:Democratic Progressive Party Taipei mayoral candidate Puma Shen and incumbent Chiang Wan-an of the Kuomintang (KMT) unveiled their transportation and urban renewal strategies for the capital during a televised policy presentation on Saturday.

According to Focus Taiwan, Shen's plan to ease traffic congestion involves integrating electric YouBikes into the T-Pass program, which provides unlimited public transportation rides for a monthly fee of NT$1,200 (US$36.48). This initiative aims to assist residents with the final leg of their commutes, encouraging greater use of public transportation by reducing the distance between metro stations and destinations.

Shen also proposed enhancing Taipei's bicycle trail network by building two "bicycle bridges" across the Keelung River and potentially extending the free ride period for electric YouBikes to match the 30 minutes currently available for non-electric models.

Chiang's transportation proposal includes a NT$399 monthly pass for unlimited bus rides within Taipei and New Taipei, aiming to address the limitations of the T-Pass for bus commuters and benefit approximately 300,000 people.

In addressing Taipei's aging residential buildings, Shen suggested forming an "old building life extension" team to provide residents with information on their homes' safety and upgrade needs. His "infinite urban renewal" initiative involves relocating occupants of older buildings to new government-constructed housing on nearby land, transferring the old properties' ownership to the government to expedite renewal projects.

Chiang, on the other hand, has focused on lowering the threshold for urban renewal project initiation, reducing it from 90 percent to 75 percent of property owners' approval and aiming for further reduction to 50 percent. His "large-block urban renewal" initiative targets areas over 3,000 square meters, particularly near waterfronts and metro stations, by increasing the base floor area ratio to provide greater incentives for residents.