TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — YouBike launched a pilot program at National Taiwan University on Wednesday, deploying two electrically assisted micro-dispatch vehicles to improve bike availability on campus.

NTU is currently the only university in Taipei with on-campus YouBike stations. With 59 stations and daily rentals reaching 15,000, the university accounts for roughly 6% of the city’s total YouBike usage, according to CNA.

The system’s popularity has created challenges — with many stations frequently either empty or completely full, making it difficult for students to rent or return bikes. The introduction of the micro-dispatch vehicle, a first of its kind, aims to address this issue by increasing daily dispatch capacity by over 400 bikes.

At a press conference announcing the initiative, YouBike General Manager John Ho (何友仁) said the current team of four trucks and 40 personnel is not enough to meet demand on the NTU campus. The six-month pilot will include operational assessments and adjustments to maximize efficiency.

Taipei Transportation Department Director Hsieh Ming-hong (謝銘鴻) said the new micro-dispatch vehicles will improve the responsiveness of the system, which has so far relied on conventional trucks for rebalancing bikes. He expressed hope that the model would be optimized before the start of the new school year.

NTU said YouBike has become an essential form of transportation for students navigating the expansive campus. The university thanked the city government for supporting the program and expressed interest in expanding the model to other areas of Taipei.