Kaohsiung Transportation

Kaohsiung's metro is a great way to get around. There are two lines the orange and the red line. Interchange is at Formosa Boulevard Station.

The metro is very user friendly. Just go to a ticket machine, press the name of the station you want to travel to and the number of people going and then feed your money into the slot. Fares start at 20 and go up to 50. Ticket machines accept coins and some accept 100 notes.

You can get to the airport on the metro, too

Some stations are beautifully decorated like Formosa Boulevard Station with its dome of light or Central Park Station with its waterfall.

We found the metro very safe, clean, easy to use and not too crowded,

Some others have noted that there is an international airport at Kaohsiung. While this might be practical for some, those already on Taiwanese soil will not typically find going through security, airport check in lines, etc., then arriving hassles to be very time efficient.

If you take the slow train from Taipei along the west coast, travel time will be about 4.5 hours.

The fast train will go from Taipei main station to "Zouying" station in about 2h 15 minutes (~10 trains per day). Cost for this will be ~1000NTD Monday through Thursday (standard car - adult). There is a 300NDT higher charge during the weekends. 10% savings if you book a return ticket.
http://www.thsrc.com.tw/en/ticket/tic_time_search.asp

Zouying Station has an MRT station that services the rest of the city. From there, you can take the MRT to Kaohsiung Main Station just a few stops away for ~20NDT.

http://www.thsrc.com.tw/en/ticket/tic_time_search.asp

Kaohsiung's MRT/subway system (known as the KRTC) is relatively new and is composed of 2 intersecting lines that run in a north-south and east-west directions. The Formosa Blvd. station at the center of the 2 lines is expectedly the biggest but on top of that it boasts of a terrific and colorful mosaic dome. It is always lit as it is not dependent on sunlight.

Riding on the MRT is quite easy. Just go to a token dispensing machine that has instructions in English: you press buttons to choose your destination, number of passengers, then drop the required amount of NTD in coins and your token(s) comes out. Swipe the token over the turnstile sensor, ride the train then upon exit, drop the token into the turnstile token slot.

For the route map, click on the link below.

Kaohsiung is a unique city in Taiwan since the local authorities have made all public buses "free" for certain summer days.

All public buses are "Free of Charge" every Thursday during the months of July and August.

This is done as an effort to subsidize the commuting costs of students on holiday, as well as an incentive to reduce people driving their own cars (traffic, pollution, fuel costs, etc.)

Major bus lines in Kaohsiung may have English, but all of the smaller ones will only be in Chinese. Therefore, the typical foreign traveler may have to travel with a local guide, hope for someone to speak English or investigate the bus numbers/directions in advance.

If you know the bus number you want, it is quite easy.

One of the place that is considered as one of the "MUST" visit place in Kaohsiung is Cijin Island. Cijin Island offers range of fresh seafood restaurants, outstanding scenaries and abundant of fishing spots. To visit Cijin you have to take ferry from Gushan ferry station or Love river pier. Otherwise you might also want to take bus number 35 from Cianjhen station. The bus fare is NT12. If there is any question in regards to traveling issues in Cijin, you are more than welcome to contact us (Cijin Information centre) at the telephone number listed below.

When I told my friends that I was going there, they asked me how I moved around. They were surprised with my answer," Public Transportation." Yah, if I were on my own, I would have borrowed a motorcycle from them. Surely, in this place, the best way to move around is by motorcycle with a local map.

By Rail : Air-conditioned electric trains run at least hourly from Taipei to Kaohsiung. Children under three travel free; children aged 3-13 pay half fare. Train tickets can be purchased at many major hotels in Taipei, as well as at the main railway station. Travelling time is about 4hrs 40 mins.

By Air : Kaohsiung International Airport is about 9km (4 miles) from the town centre. China Airlines, Eva Air, Far Eastern Air Transport, Formosa Airlines and five other domestic airlines run services to Kaohsiung from Sung Shan airport in Taipei. Flying time from Taipei is about 40 mins.

By Bus : A number of private bus companies provide extensive services from Taipei. Travelling time about 5hrs 30 mins.

By Bus : A regular bus service is available from the airport (travel time - 30 minutes). There is also a taxi service to the town.

KMRT System is controlled by computer from control center. Without the hindrance of traffic lights, the trains will be on schedule. The rush-hour headway is two minutes. The travel time of Red line from Linhai Industrial Park to Chiaotou is about 50 minutes. The Orange line from National Sun Yat-sen University to Taliao is about 25 minutes.