TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) operators of Taipei, New Taipei, Taoyuan, Taichung, and Kaohsiung signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Thursday (Sept. 14) to cooperate on lowering costs.

The operators will join hands to train staff, work on research and development, exchange technological knowledge, and set up a joint procurement system, CNA reported. The aim is to reduce operating costs for all five participants.

Senior executives signed the MoU at a hotel in New Taipei City’s Banqiao District in the presence of some of the city mayors. The agreement will lead to an improvement in the quality of service, comfort, and safety, said New Taipei City Mayor Hou Yu-ih (侯友宜).

Taipei City Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) praised the Taipei MRT’s punctuality, comfort, and popular satisfaction, adding that the system had even won praise from Singapore. Taipei is willing to share its experience with an umbrella-sharing network, multilingual announcements, and special cars for pets with other cities, he said.