It is really exciting to know that even if I want to go see the famous cat village at 猴硐 Hóudòng, all it takes is swiping my 悠遊卡 Yōuyóu kǎ to hop onto the train and go for a special day trip! Or even better, it's fun to stay in Taipei and explore the gondolas at 貓空 Māokōng and see the mountain views using the same card! Coming from a city (in Texas) where most people have cars, sometimes it brings a special connection with my Taiwan community just to ride the same subway train other community members are riding.
There's a lot of special culture and history that goes into how people travel around Taiwan, but one of the most important things is that Taiwanese people care a lot about families and togetherness. Every Lunar New Year, lots of families go back to their home cities and have reunions where they share gifts. So having an extensive system of transit that goes all around the island helps people stay connected, wherever they are! Taiwan's government also provides great care for the environment and uses big transit systems to help reduce overall pollution. They even have green e-buses in big cities!
