Public Transportation

Kaohsiung

Both Kaohsiung and NSYSU are served by public transportation. On campus there are free
shuttles that regularly make the rounds, transporting students up the hill to the dorms, and to various colleges on the campus. A city bus also stops at the Administration Building several times a day, and students can ride this into the city.

Alternatively, students can make the ten minute walk to through the Xiziwan Tunnel (for pedestrians and bikes only) from campus through the mountain and to Sizihwan Station where you can catch an MRT metro (orange line), or the light rail train (green loop), depending on where you want to go. (Switching from the orange to the red line on the MRT will get students to the Kaohsiung Airport or to Zuoying Station for the High Speed Rail to Taipei [and other points] in the north.)

Students should plan on getting an iPass card in Kaohsiung. You can get these at any 7-Eleven store or Family Mart. (These are also available at some metro stations and the airport in Taipei.) This is the most convenient way to pay for metro, bus, ferry, and train rides in Taiwan. You’ll be able to use this in Kaohsiung and also in Taipei when you visit.

Taiwan High Speed Rail is by far the most convenient way to make the trip between Taipei and Kaohsiung, though you can take a slow train or bus, if you want to save some money, or make some stops along the way.

There are public buses in Kaohsiung, though these aren’t as popular as they are in some cities. If you’re going to travel by bus, it’s a good idea to get the iBus app, so you can keep tabs on the wait time for your next bus. (iOS, Android)

Both Uber and regular taxis are widely available in Kaohsiung, if you want to get somewhere not serviced by public transportation, and neither are terribly expensive, though certainly more expensive than the very cheap public transit (which will usually cost $1 USD or less).

Bike rentals are also an option in Kaohsiung (and on campus). UBike is the main provider in Kaohsiung (and Taipei) and their bike stalls can be found all over the city. Kaohsiung has several bike paths as well, that make bike riding more feasible and enjoyable. You can pay for Bikes with the iPass, or by downloading the YouBike 2.0 app.