Free Metro Rides for Furry Friends!

In celebration of National Pet Day in April, Taipei Metro (MRT) held its second ever special pet event to welcome furry passengers to its transportation system. Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) said it deployed four trains to provide 16 train services allowing pets on Taipei Metro's Red (Xinyi-Tamsui) Line. The trains used for the one-day event were additional services and did not affect the Red Line's regular schedule.

Unlike the inaugural event last year, pet owners did not have to sign up to experience the service ahead of time this year, TRTC said. On the advice of animal experts, the four trains were divided between dog-exclusive and cat-exclusive trains, and they all had veterinarians, animal behavioral professionals and janitors on board, the company said.

While all furry passengers were free to ride the trains as long as they were on a leash, TRTC still required owners to keep their pets confined in bags or cages when entering and exiting station gates.

The company said the four MRT trains used for pet day will only re-enter the Taipei Metro's normal passenger fleet after they have been cleaned and disinfected, and air filters were also replaced before the regular weekly operations resumed on Monday (April 1).

Published by: Head Office (a version of this article originally appeared in the SEST Teachers' Newsletter Summer 2024 - excerpts taken from Focus Taiwan and Taiwan News)