Happy New Year from Taipei!
Tonight, major roads are CLOSED as the metro works overtime as the primary mode of transport. 1M+ people will celebrate, with 200K+ at the busiest site.
Dodgers stadium can’t host a 50K event without crippling traffic.
We got lots to learn…
1/🧵
As an attendee, everything flows well without car traffic.
- 2km^2 of city closed to cars
- pedestrians use the entire road width
- crowd control by thousands of staff
- extra tap points installed in stations
These measures work only because Taipei has been preparing for DECADES!
2/
Dec 31, 2025 20:20How do you get 200K+ people out of a tiny area all at once?
With Taipei’s metro grid, of course! 3 metro lines, EACH capable of moving 40,000 PPHPD serve 8 different stations (120,000 PPHPD).
Car infrastructure taking up the same amount of space would move only ~3000 PPHPD.
3/
This metro grid facilitates trips from anywhere to anywhere, meaning event attendees don’t really care what line they take.
It’s only possible as a result of steady investment and careful planning towards an ambitious vision first dreamt up by consultants in the 1970s.
4/
Look closely!
The secret of the network lies before the primary lines enter into a grid pattern: a series of 4 cross-platform interchanges across 4 high-capacity lines.
Each line interacts with every other DESPITE the grid, creating easy directional transfers & distributing the load.
5/
Pulling this off required an incredible feat of long-term planning & engineering:
- preserved ROWs for lines & junctions
- ‘overbuilt’ stations for their expected final state
- weaving, underpinning, & tight tolerances
Line colors in this 2007 map are set in preparation for the end state.
6/
What might’ve looked like a series of short, nonsensical stub lines just 20 years ago now form the basis for one of the best planned metro networks on earth.
200K+ people attending this year’s festivities can use all 3 lines across 8 stations no matter their destination!
7/
In the English-speaking world, we’re afraid to dream big because our incompetence has created a culture of fear.
- our construction cost crisis makes basic projects infeasible
- our engagement process elevates self-interested stakeholders
- risk averse staff coddle politico egos
8/
Without reform to governance and institutions, we’ll always be too afraid to propose a vision like Taipei or Paris or Istanbul or Hong Kong.
This new year, let’s stop being afraid. Demand more from our institutions. Hold politicians accountable. Speak truth to power.
Let’s dream big again!
9/9
