TRA Luodong Station→Qingjing Farm

There are many gypsy cabs or illegal taxis in Line and Facebook groups. Their fares are cheap but with many risks. If the cabs are pulled over by polices, passengers cannot continue the trip. If there is an accident, none of the insurance companies will settle a claim. Worst of all, illegal drivers may conduct crimes without any trace. Don't put your life at risk for just saving a few bucks. On the other hand, tripool contracts with legal drivers without any criminal record. All vehicles provide up to $5 million in insurance. The easiest way to distinguish a legal vehicle is the car plate number. Unless the initial character of the car plate number is either T or R, the car is 100% illegal for taxi service.

To take the High Speed Rail (HSR) from TRA Luodong Station to Qingjing Farm, HSR is quick but pricey and has difficult taxi access. From the earliest departure at 06:15 to the latest at 22:50, there are up to 101 high-speed rail from Nangang to Taichung each day. Assuming you depart from TRA Luodong Station (Luodong Township, Yilan County) and head to the nearest Nangang HSR station, a taxi ride would cost about NT$1,800 and take approximately 68 minutes. After arriving at the HSR station, the time to walk in, purchase tickets, and wait on the platform is about 20 minutes. Then, take a 58-77-minute (68 min on average) HSR ride from Nangang Station to Taichung HSR Station. The ticket price is NT$750 per person, followed by a 10-minute walk to exit the station, wait for a ride at the taxi stand, and after a trip of about 100 minutes with a fare of NT$3,200, you will arrive at your destination at Qingjing Farm (Renai Township, Nantou County). The entire journey, including transfers, takes a total of 4 hours and 26 minutes. Assuming 3 people traveling together, the average cost per person for the HSR and transfers is NT$2,420. However, in Yilan County, there are only just over 700 licensed taxis. The taxi density is 0.9% of that in the Taipei/New Taipei metro area. In other words, hailing a taxi on the spot is 100 times more difficult than in a major city like Taipei, and since TRA Luodong Station is not located in a downtown area, it may be impossible to find a taxi at all. Even if you are lucky enough to hail a cab, a minority of taxi drivers in Yilan County may not use the meter, and might overcharge or take detours, especially with passengers who appear to be from out of town. In contrast, if you use Tripool for a door-to-door private car service, the average cost per person is about NT$2,350, and the journey takes 4 hours and 48 minutes. For long-distance travel, the HSR is indeed faster than a car by 22 minutes, but it comes with an extra transportation cost of about NT$210. Therefore, for those who are not in a major hurry, booking with Tripool is the more cost-effective option. If you are traveling with just one other person, you can also consider Tripool's carpooling service to save up to an additional 50% on transportation costs.

If you have a driver's license, do not mind driving yourself, and you do not need to use the travel time to rest in the car, there are about 10 rental car companies, such as 雄風國際租賃, 立丞交通, 利祥小客車租賃, available in the TRA Luodong Station - Luodong Township, Yilan County area. Typically, car rentals are billed by the day. A small sedan like a Toyota Corolla or Ford Fiesta costs around NT$1500 per day, while a 9-seater van like a Hyundai Staria or Volkswagen Caravelle starts at NT$4500 per day. Extra costs such as fuel (approx. NT$3/km), eTag tolls (approx. NT$1/km), roadside parking (approx. NT$40/hour), insurance, and potential fines are not included. Most rental agreements specify a daily mileage limit of 200-400 km, with surcharges ranging from NT$100 to NT$2,000 for exceeding it. Since the vast majority of rental companies do not offer one-way rentals, assuming you make a same-day round trip between TRA Luodong Station and Qingjing Farm, the estimated cost for a sedan is NT$4300 or NT$7300 for a 9-seater van. This is, of course, cheaper than taking a taxi. If you plan to sightsee along the way to Qingjing Farm, renting a car for the day is certainly convenient and affordable, but it means the driver will not get to relax or fully enjoy the trip. Moreover, the rental location may be some distance from TRA Luodong Station, and you must adhere to their business hours for pickup and return. The rental process itself is tedious, often taking an extra 30 minutes for contracts and vehicle inspection. You may even need to refuel the car yourself before returning. If you encounter a dishonest operator, you risk being hit with various unjustified charges upon return.

If you choose to take a taxi directly, in the Yilan County area, you can use apps to hail a cab from 55688 Taiwan Taxi, Uber, Line Go, Yoxi, etc., and if you cannot hail a cab on the street, you can also consider calling taxi fleets near TRA Luodong Station, such as 東慶計程汽車行, 東慶計程車, 宜信計程車 to try to book a ride. Based on the meter, the estimated fare is between NT$6,390 and 9,600, but you could save up to NT$2,600 by booking with Tripool instead. But if you cannot book in advance or prefer to hail a cab on the spot, be aware that in the whole Yilan County, there are only about 750 licensed taxis. The taxi density is just 0.9% of that in the Taipei/New Taipei metro area, meaning it is 100 times more difficult to hail a cab on the spot compared to Taipei or New Taipei. If you plan to make a return trip on the same or next day, be aware that taxis are even harder to find in Qingjing Farm (in the Nantou County area), as Nantou County has only about 342 taxis. It is recommended to plan ahead. Furthermore, some taxi drivers in Yilan County flat-out refuse to use the meter. Nearly 47% of them will try to negotiate the fare on the spot—often asking far above the standard rate. If you’re not familiar with local pricing, you are an easy target. To avoid getting ripped off, it is strongly advised to book online in advance. Considering all factors, Tripool is your best choice for traveling from TRA Luodong Station to Qingjing Farm in terms of both price and service quality.

Tripool will send a receipt through the third-party system one week after the ride. If passengers need to claim reimbursement for travel expenses, there is a blank to fill with the company's title and tax ID. It's legal, and there is no extra 5% for the receipt. Once the receipt is received via email, it can be printed out for reimbursement or saved as a PDF.

Customers are always looking for a lower price with better service. There are Taiwan Taxi, Metro Taxi, Line Taxi, and Uber for short-range service in the Taiwan taxi market. There are CallCarBar, JoinMe, Car Plus, Easy Rent for long-range private car services. And for charter day tour services, there are KKDAY and Klook. Tripool focuses on long-distance point-to-point transportation and hourly ride service. No matter where you're from or where you'll go (of course, including TRA Luodong Station to Qingjing Farm), we guarantee there will be a vehicle available to take you there. Tripool uses AI algorithms to dispatch hundreds of cars around the island to increase efficiency and lower the price by 20~30%. Travelers can easily find that tripool is the best choice for private car service.

The quote on the website and the app already include the car rental fee, driver's fare, cost of gasoline, toll fee, insurance, and tips. Passengers don't have to pay for the driver's meals and accommodation fees. There is no other hidden fee. What passengers see on the website is the actual price.

Fewer travelers book hotels through traditional travel agents, and most go through OTAs (online travel agents). It is easy to filter areas, prices, types of rooms, special needs on OTAs' websites. Still, customers can also get a 20~40% discount compared to hotels' official websites. The most popular OTAs in Taiwan are Booking.com, Agoda.com, Hotels.com, Expedia.com, and Trip.com. In general, travelers can make reservations on websites or apps. Once finishing the online payment, everything is set, and there is not necessary to double-check the reservation by phone. However, some hotels may oversell their rooms on multiple platforms. To avoid being rejected by hotels once you arrive, choose high-rated hotels with more reviews online or make a phone call to hotels to confirm again. For B&Bs (also called minsus), locals prefer to book rooms through B&Bs' websites or contact the hosts directly. Sometimes, the price is better than OTAs. The downside is that their websites don't accept foreign credit cards or guests have to do wire transfers. If you want to save all these troubles and find decent B&Bs, Airbnb and AsiaYo (a local brand) are the best alternatives.