The Progression of Bikeways Policy Change in Taiwan

Abstract

This study examined the development of the bikeway policy which was promoted by the Taiwanese government from 2002 to 2021. Identifying the degree and types of policy dynamics, our analytical framework is based on that of three detection indicators of policy change, namely organization, legal framework, and budget as proposed by Hogwood and Peters (1983). Regarding the research method, a major goal of this study was to synthesize evidence by reviewing references of documentary materials. The findings revealed that from 2002 to 2007, the type of overall policy change was biased towards policy innovation, from 2008 to 2016, the type of overall policy change was between policy succession and policy innovation, and from 2017 to 2021, the type of overall policy change was biased towards policy succession. This study concluded that local bikeways were built because of the needs for urban or township development, and they have driven the trend of opening up bikeways throughout Taiwan. The trend of bikeway construction plans is closely related to the national policies of development. Moreover, cross-departmental cooperation enabled the bikeway policies to work successfully. Importantly, the support of policy makers or high-level decision makers, and the emergence of specialized bikeway organizations are key factors contributing to the development of bikeways in Taiwan.