Taiwan

Taichung

The hub of central Taiwan. Rail here means a single metro line, so most journeys fall to the city buses.

Taichung City Bus (臺中市市區公車)

Tap an IC card as you board and tap again as you get off - NT$15 comes off at boarding, and anything past 8 km is charged when you tap off. The widely quoted 10 km free ride is for Taichung residents only.

Updated 10 days ago

How to ride

  1. 1
    Get an IC card before you ride
    EasyCard, iPASS and icash2.0 all work, and the information desk at any metro station sells them.
  2. 2
    Top up before you board
    A card with a negative balance will not board you, and clearing a missed tap-off needs the full adult cash fare sitting on it.
  3. 3
    Tap the on-board reader as you board
    Paying cash, you hand the base fare over as you board. With a Taichung go pass, show the QR code to the reader.
  4. 4
    Tap again when you get off
    Anything past the first 8 km comes off here, and cash riders pay the difference on the way out.

Fares

Single fares2

IC card, deducted as you board
Covers the first 8 km; past that, distance is charged at tap-off (operator table: NT$2.431/km plus 5% tax)
15 TWD ≈ $0.5
Cash, paid as you board
Beyond 8 km you pay the difference as you get off
20 TWD ≈ $0.6

Passes & multi-ride1

Taichung go 24-hour pass
48 hours is NT$280 and 72 hours NT$380, and the metro is included
180 TWD ≈ $6

Card itself1

The IC card itself (blank card)
Sold at metro station information desks; this is a purchase, not a deposit, and is not refunded
100 TWD ≈ $3

Children & discounts2

Half fare (children, seniors and disabled riders)
Covers children, seniors, disabled riders and their companions
11 TWD ≈ $0.3
Children under 115 cm
From 115 to 150 cm it is the half fare, and 150 cm and over pays full
0 TWD

Estimates use exchange rates as of September 18, 2026

Payment

Tap to ride
No bank-card tap to ride on buses; the metro is a separate case
IC card
EasyCard, iPASS and icash2.0 - same fare, and tap both on and off
App tickets needs a Taiwanese e-payment account
台中Go
In the wallet: EasyWallet's NFC tap-to-ride, which needs an NFC-capable Android phone
QR ticketing
Ride codes from Taiwanese e-payment apps, though some buses have no scanner
Paper tickets
No paper tickets are sold
Cash
You may pay again as you get off; nothing official says whether change is given

Quick facts

Fares from
15 TWD+

Heads-up

  • A missed tap-off stops the card

    Taichung city buses take a tap when you board and another when you get off, and a missed tap-off leaves the IC card unusable as it stands. It is settled on your next bus as a 特許扣款 - but only if the card holds at least NT$20 (NT$11 on a half fare) at that boarding; below that it cannot be cleared and you cannot ride. No official Taichung page states the size of the unlock fee, so do not apply the figures quoted for other cities.

  • Ignore older guides that promise a free 10 km

    The "10 km free, NT$10 ceiling beyond that" deal is limited to Taichung residents, their foreign spouses, students at schools in the city, and holders of a permanent residence certificate registered in Taichung - and the card has to be linked with the city first. It has worked this way since January 1, 2021; before that anyone qualified, which is why older write-ups still say the first 10 km is free. What a visitor actually gets is the NT$5 discount for paying by IC card.

  • Yellow-numbered routes have to be booked by phone

    Routes numbered with the character 黃 are 小黃公車 - scheduled services run by taxis. They leave at fixed times but seat only three or four people, so the Transportation Bureau asks passengers to phone the operator the day before. Two different booking numbers cover different groups of routes, and the lines are open during office hours only. Where these routes overlap the city bus network they use the ordinary stops; elsewhere you flag them down.

Timetable

Check the official site for the latest times and service status
The pole at the Feng Chia U. (Fuxing Rd.) stop: circled numbers for the routes this pole carries, and below them each route's stop list and departure timetable panel. Taken Aug 2019 © Solomon203・CC BY-SA 4.0
Editor Naotaka