Most people coming to Taipei for a month worry about the same thing: do I need to figure out a scooter? Rent a car? Get an international license?
The answer is no. And honestly, not having a vehicle here isn't a compromise, it's the better way to live.
The MRT skips traffic entirely. YouBike is on every corner. Uber works exactly like it does at home. The neighborhoods worth spending time in — Da'an, Zhongshan, Xinyi — are built for walking, not parking. After about a week, you stop thinking about it altogether.
Here's how getting around actually works.
The MRT — Start Here
Taipei Metro runs from around 6:00am to midnight, connecting Taipei and New Taipei City. Trains come frequently, during peak hours on the main lines, you're rarely waiting more than a few minutes.
You don't need to learn the whole map. For most central Taipei stays, these are the lines that matter:
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Red Line — Runs through Zhongshan, Taipei Main Station, Da'an, Taipei 101, and World Trade Center. If you're in Da'an, Zhongshan, or Xinyi, this is your line.
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Blue Line — East–west across the city. Ximen, Zhongxiao Fuxing, Zhongxiao Dunhua, Taipei City Hall. Good for crossing town without routing through the center.
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Green Line — Songshan, Nanjing Fuxing, Guting, Gongguan. Useful for central and southern Taipei.
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Orange Line — Connects central Taipei (Guting, Xingtian Temple, Zhongshan Elementary School, Dongmen ) with New Taipei area Zhonghe, Yonghe, Sanchong, Luzhou, and Xinzhuang across the river.
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Brown Line — Elevated and driverless through Liuzhangli, Zhongxiao Fuxing, Nanjing Fuxing, Neihu, and Nangang. Useful for the tech park and some coworking spots.
The New Taipei Metro's Circular Line loops around the outer New Taipei districts — less relevant for a central stay, but handy for specific trips.
The EasyCard — Get One Before Anything Else
The EasyCard is a rechargeable tap card that works for the MRT, city buses, YouBike, convenience stores, and basically everything else with a card reader in Taiwan.
Grab one at the airport arrivals hall, there's a counter before you exit. Load credit at any MRT machine or convenience store counter as you go.
New in 2026: Since July 1, Taipei Metro gates officially support contactless payment. You can tap in directly with a Visa, Mastercard, or most major international credit cards, or use Apple Pay, Google Pay, or Samsung Pay. So technically you can ride the MRT from the moment you land — no EasyCard required for the train itself.
That said, get the EasyCard anyway. Buses and YouBike still need it, convenience stores use it, and you'll want it for the TPASS.
For a monthly stay: the TPASS is a no-brainer
NT$1,200/month (about USD $37) gets you unlimited travel on Taipei Metro, New Taipei Metro, the Airport MRT, and eligible buses across the Taipei–New Taipei area for 30 days. It lives on your EasyCard.
Getting Around Day-to-Day
Groceries
PX Mart (全聯) ,Uni-Prosperity(樂家康), Simple mart (美廉社) is your everyday stop — affordable and everywhere. Prosperity Plaza (萬家福), Mega PX Mart(大全聯) for variety and bigger shops. For Western imports, look for larger premium supermarkets near main MRT stations. You take the MRT or walk, you shop, you walk back. No parking, no traffic, no problem.
Coworking
Taipei's coworking spaces cluster near the big stations, Zhongshan, Zhongxiao Fuxing, Xinyi. From a well-located apartment, it's usually: 10 minutes to the MRT, 10–20 minutes on the train, 5 minutes to the desk. Most people are settled in under 40 minutes.
Arriving from the Airport
The Airport MRT Express takes about 35–40 minutes from Taoyuan Airport to Taipei Main Station, depending on your terminal. Grab an EasyCard at the arrivals hall, tap in, and you're done. It's one of the easiest airport arrivals in Asia.
Day Trips
This is where most visitors assume they need a car. They don't.
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Danshui (淡水) — Red Line straight to the end. About 45–55 minutes from Zhongshan.
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Beitou hot springs — Red Line north, short transfer to Xinbeitou branch. Easy half-day.
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Jiufen (九份) — Train or bus via Ruifang. Allow 1.5–2 hours each way, especially on weekends.
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Yangmingshan (陽明山) — Bus from near Jiantan MRT. Great hiking, no car needed. Give yourself extra time on weekends.
For Tainan, Kaohsiung, or the east coast, the High Speed Rail connects from Taipei Main Station.
Late Nights
The MRT ends around midnight. After that, Uber and taxis are available — wait times vary depending on where you are and how late it is, but you're not going to be stranded. A ride between central neighborhoods is usually a few hundred New Taiwan dollars. It comes up once in a while during a month-long stay. When it does, you sort it in 5 minutes.
YouBike — The Last Mile
YouBike is Taipei's yellow public bike system, and it's genuinely useful for the distances that are too short for the MRT but too long to walk comfortably. Docking stations are all over central Taipei.
With TPASS, standard YouBike rides in Taipei and New Taipei are free for the first 30 minutes per trip — once you've linked your TPASS EasyCard to a YouBike membership. After 30 minutes, normal rates apply. The 2.0E electric-assist bikes aren't included in the free benefit.
Before your first ride, check the YouBike 2.0 app for current registration and payment options — the setup process is updated periodically. Linking an EasyCard to a YouBike account is the most reliable way to get everything working, especially for the TPASS benefit.
Best use: a cafe one neighborhood over, the riverside path on a Saturday morning, or that last stretch from a bus stop to your door.
Uber and Taxis
Uber works exactly like it does at home, same app, price upfront, no Mandarin required. It's the default for late nights or any time you want door-to-door without thinking.
Traditional taxis are metered and generally trustworthy. English is limited, so show your destination in Chinese on your phone, your rental provider can give you a list of common addresses if that helps. Easy to flag down in busier areas during the day.
Why MRT Proximity Is the Most Important Thing When Choosing an Apartment
All of the above works — but it works best when you're starting from the right place.
In Taipei, the right place means within 10 minutes' walk of an MRT station. When you have that, the city is frictionless. Groceries, cafe, dinner, a spontaneous evening out — everything just connects. When you're 20 minutes from the station, every trip becomes a small calculation. The city that's supposed to be easy starts taking effort.
This one variable — the MRT walk — affects how your entire month feels more than anything else.
Every Kolette apartment is chosen with this as a primary criterion. Not just near a station, but near the right station for the neighborhood it's in. Every listing shows the walking time, so there's no guessing.
Browse Kolette homes by MRT station → kolettehome.com
One Week In, You Stop Thinking About It
Something happens around day seven or eight. You stop planning routes. You just go.
The MRT stop near your apartment becomes the landmark you give people when they ask where you're staying. Grocery shopping happens on the way back from somewhere else. The last train home is a known thing, midnight, you check the time, you leave accordingly.
The city fits together in a way that doesn't require a car to make sense of. And for a month or two, that's exactly the kind of city you want to be in.
Find your home by MRT station → kolettehome.com
Kolette Home offers fully furnished monthly apartments in Taipei's most walkable, MRT-connected neighborhoods, Da'an, Zhongshan, Xinyi, Songshan, and Zhongzheng. Every home is selected for location, designed for real living, and supported by a local team.