TRA plans on permanently banning commuters from sitting on lobby floor

Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) banned people from sitting on the lobby floor of Taipei Main Station to prevent the spread of coronavirus. They announced on Monday (May 18) that they are establishing a plan to extend the ban indefinitely once the pandemic ended.

Taipei Railway Station Master Huang Jung-hua (黃榮華) said during an interview that after the ban of mass gathering the station has become orderly. TRA will provide more chairs for travelers to use, though he pointed out that all TRA stations were built for transportation and that occupying the station floor was not part of their design.

Huang denied the implication of the recent policy from being unfriendly to foreign workers, saying that it was unsuitable to treat the station as a place of entertainment.

The Taipei Main Station has become a hotspot for foreigners to meet up on weekends. Because of the new policy, seeing commuters from sitting on the floor may become a history. 

Some Taiwanese urged the railways administration to search for a better solution such as limiting the people allowed to sit on the floor. They are worried that the potential ban negates the values of diversity and acceptance.