WHO PAYS?
A union leader said installing a GPS tracker costs about NT$4,000 and rent is about NT$160 per month.
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By Tsai Yun-jung / Staff Reporter
Coach industry associations yesterday issued a statement criticising the Ministry of Transport and Communications for requiring coaches to install a GPS tracking system and a card reader. They announced that they would protest against the regulation on 26 August.
After a bus crashed on the highway in 2017, killing 33 people, mostly elderly people on a day trip organized by Iris Travel Service Co (蝶戀花), the ministry subsidized the installation of GPS tracking systems in 10,856 coaches. The driver was driving too fast and may have been overworked.
A real-time GPS tracker will issue an alert when a bus is traveling at an unusual speed, when the driver has been driving for too long, when the bus has entered a no-entry zone, or when the bus is overdue for maintenance.
Photo: CNA
The ministry said it is currently considering whether to make it mandatory to install card readers on coaches to verify the identity and working hours of drivers.
President of the New Taipei City Touring-bus Craft Union for the Drivers Hsu Ching-hsiang (許景翔) and President of the Taiwan Tourism Bus Carrier Development Association Lee Shih-chia (李式嘉) issued a statement yesterday saying that “hands-on” education and training for drivers was crucial.
Intercepting the buses’ GPS signals violates the constitutionally protected freedom of private communication. Bus companies should therefore only be required to provide GPS tracking data to investigators after a serious accident, the statement said.
The Labor Standards Act (勞動基準法) contains regulations on workers’ working hours, so the working hour limits set by the ministry’s highway bureau are confusing, the statement said.
Hsu said he was not opposed to installing GPS trackers and card readers on coaches, but this would have to be managed by the bus companies and fully paid for by the ministry, as the installation fee for a GPS tracker is about NT$4,000 and the rental fee is about NT$160 per month.
The bureau plans to offer bus driving courses for inexperienced drivers in mountainous areas and on highways, said Liang Kuo-kuo (梁郭國), director of the bureau’s transportation department.
First, a consensus must be reached with the Taiwan Highway and Intercity Bus Companies Association on the content of the training courses, he said.
The agency will continue to discuss the issue of access to GPS tracking data with business associations and unions before issuing a regulation, Liang said.
Once the GPS tracking systems are installed, the agency will help companies improve their security management and increase public safety, he said.
As for the working hours of bus drivers, the Transport Management Regulations (汽車運輸業管理規則) regulate the driving and rest times of bus drivers. These are based on the Labor Standards Act, but the specifics and safety of the work are also taken into account, according to the office.
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