While the world is experiencing the COVID-19 outbreak since 2020, the most searched keyword in 2021 is net-zero emissions. This implies that climate change is going to be another battlefield because no country is immune to its effects, including Taiwan.
Therefore, in the process of developing smart cities, Taiwan has begun to explore ways to combine technology with commerce to create a new green economy while finding a new powerful engine for the industry and cities in support of international efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Ultimately, Taiwan aims to build urban resilience and usher into a new era of urban and environmental sustainability.
Taiwan has begun combining the concepts of electric vehicles and sharing economy with smart city tourism in mind. Initially, the beautiful eastern coastal city of Taiwan Taitung was selected to test the electric vehicle charging technology, charging management platform, and service revenue business model. This aims to free urban tourism from the dilemma of green sustainability and economic development
Government policies, electric vehicle prices and vehicle models, and charging infrastructure all play their key roles in the popularity of electric vehicles. Among them, the number of charging facilities installed, charging time, and the availability of supporting power grids and electricity supply are the potential factors to affect consumers’ acceptance of electric vehicles.
With the support of the Taiwan Smart City Project initiated by the Industrial Development Bureau (IDB) of the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MoEA), an electric vehicle charging service provider – has cooperated with Taitung City Government, along with local car rental operators, restaurants, tourist centres, and outlying islands like “Green Island to provide electric vehicle rental / sharing / charging services.
This tie-up helps achieve low-carbon green tourism with smart electric vehicles while breaking the deadlock between economic growth and environmental sustainability, and the trade-off between green tourism economy and local ecology.
The vehicle charging company has cooperated with Taiwanese restaurants, shopping malls, parking lots, and resorts to set up charging stations to build a complete charging network across Taiwan. It allows car owners to complete charging in parking lots and also brings market opportunities in charging station areas while creating a new economic model for parking lots.
For corporate customers, the company provides energy management and dynamic pricing services. Personnel-in-charge can set the charging peak time and price range on the platform while automatically updating the charging price based on market demand. In addition, it can also real-time monitor the status of each charging station.
For customers, the company provides automated charging and payment services. Even if the car owner does not download the app or log in as a member, the electric vehicle can be automatically charged as long as the charging gun is inserted. The car owner can then scan the QR code of the charging station with their phone to select their preferred payment method, language interfaces, and currencies.
In the face of energy scarcity, global warming and natural disasters, Taiwan strives to create a sustainable, smart, and green country using in-house technology solutions. The Taiwanese central and local governments and industries have been working closely together to build a new economy that not only is environmental friendly but also is conducive to economic development.
Amid the construction of a resilient city, high-tech becomes a driving force to enhance sustainable earth development and smart city planning. At present, the Taiwan Smart City Project has fostered about 300 Taiwanese companies to develop more than 220 smart services across 22 counties and cities in Taiwan, benefiting up to 8.54 million people.
As reported by OpenGov Asia, Taiwan’s IDB has initiated a “Smart City Taiwan” project to create livable, business-facilitating, and innovation-fostering communities. Smart cities embed smart technology including Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), and other services to make living more efficient and accessible for its residents. Smart City Taiwan is changing the concept of the traditional city through the integration of smart applications and other technology.