A Keelung mayoral candidate is proposing that the city pay bus operators to add rush-hour trips, which would be good news for commuters who cannot squeeze onto full buses.

• Tung Tzu-wei, the DPP candidate for Keelung mayor, wants the city to buy or subsidize extra intercity bus runs during morning and evening peaks.
• Thousands of Keelung residents commute to Taipei and New Taipei daily, and packed buses often drive past stops without picking anyone up.
• Highway Bureau chief Lin Fu-shan said local funding would make operators more willing to put extra buses on the road, and called the idea worth backing.
• The core problem is that buses are jammed at rush hour and nearly empty the rest of the day, so operators lose money adding capacity.

Outlook: If Tung wins, commuting is set to become the city's top priority, with subsidy deals for peak-hour bus service the first test.