Foreign tourists in Taiwan will now be able to communicate more smoothly when getting ariund town.
The Taipei ‘1999 citizen hotline’ has rolled out a free translation service for taxi drivers who struggle to communicate with foreign travellers.
The interpretation service gives English and Japanese translations to Mandarin and vice-versa via operators on call 24 hours a day at the 1999 free hotline number.
The 1999 number is normally used by local residents to inform authorities about noise disturbances, anti social behaviour or other community issues, but has now been extended on a trial basis to help tongue-tied taxi drivers and tourists communicate better.
The trial of the service will last until the end of the year, the Taipei City government said.
The 1999 service is free to call from any landline in Taipei and surrounding areas.
