Category Archives: taipei

2019/2020 year-end updates for ExploreMetro maps

As usual, many of the metro systems around Asia are opening new lines and extensions in the last few days of the year. I’m working hard to get the different maps updated as soon as possible, please bear with me as ExploreMetro is a one-person operation, and I have a newborn baby to look after 🙂 Apple also shut down the submission of new apps over Christmas, so there’s a backlog to get new apps approved.

Here’s a summary of the lines and extensions already open during December 2019/January 2020 and the current status on the ExploreMetro apps. If you think I missed anything, please shoot me an email to support@exploremetro.com

Updated now on all platforms:

Bangkok – 04 Dec 2019 – Sukhumvit Line, Ha Yaek Lat Phrao – Kasetsart University MAPS UPDATED on web, iOS and Android!
Bangkok – 04 Dec 2019 – Blue Line, Tao Poon – Sirindhorn MAPS UPDATED on web, iOS and Android!
Shenzhen – 08 Dec 2019 – Line 9, Hongshuwan South – Qianwan MAPS UPDATED on web, iOS and Android!
Guangzhou 20 Dec 2019 – Line 21, Yuancun – Zhenlongxi MAPS UPDATED on web, iOS and Android
Bangkok – 23 Dec 2019 – Blue Line, Sirindhorn – Tha Phra MAPS UPDATED on web and iOS and Android
Beijing – 28-30 Dec 2019, Line 7, Jiaohuachang – Huazhuang + Shuangjing and Batong Line, Tuqiao – Huazhuang, Line 13 Qinghe station MAPS UPDATED on web, iOS and Android!
Guangzhou – 28 Dec 2019, Line 8, Fenghuang Xincun – Cultural Park MAPS UPDATED on web, iOS and Android!
Taipei – 19 Jan 2020, Circular Line (Yellow) – New Taipei Industrial Park to Dapinglin MAPS UPDATED on web, Android and iOS!
Singapore – 31 Jan 2020, Thomson–East Coast Line, Woodlands North – Woodlands South MAPS UPDATED on web, Android and iOS!

Opening soon:

Hong Kong – 14 Feb 2020, Tuen Ma Line, Tai Wai to Kai Tak

All change as Taipei Songshan Line opens

It’s all change on the Taipei Metro this week as the new Songshan Line opens. Although only 4 new stations have opened: Songshan, Nanjing Sanmin, Taipei Arena and Beimen, there’s also been a major reorientation of services on the other lines, leading to much improved and simplified interchanges in central Taipei. The Songshan Line connects through to the Xindian Line as part of the new Line 3, shown in green on the map below:

Screenshot 2014-11-16 22.29.34

Additionally, the lines in Taipei have now been numbered for the first time, aiding tourists and visitors to Taipei.

* The Wenhu Line (brown) is now Line 1
* The Tamsui-Xinyi Line (red) is now Line 2
* The Songshan-Xindian Line (green) is now Line 3
* The Zhonghe-Xinlu Line (orange) is now Line 4
* The Bannan Line (blue) is now Line 5

We’ve updated our online map at taipei.exploremetro.com with all the new stations and lines. Updates to our iOS and Android apps are coming soon! Due to the large number of changes, there may be some errors or issues with the maps. Spot anything out of place? Do get in touch!

Introducing Material Design for our Android metro maps

We’ve just updated all of our ExploreMetro Android apps with a style update inspired by the new Google Material Design patterns.

You’ll see more consistent use of colour throughout the apps: for example Shanghai uses a blue theme with a blue icon, blue toolbar and blue highlights, while Singapore is purple and Beijing is red.

It’s also even easier to plan a route, just tap the big circular Plan Route button (in orange in the screenshot below) to start planning a route.

We’ve also taken the opportunity to roll out some other updates, with station and first/last train time updates for Shanghai, and updated journey prices for Singapore. Find any issues with the latest updates? Get in touch

Asia’s best metro maps: now free forever on iPhone

I’m excited to announce that starting today, all our iPhone metro maps apps are free to download. Whether you need a metro map for Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hong Kong, Singapore, Seoul, or Taipei – both iPhone and Android apps can be downloaded free of charge. This is not a temporary promotion, all our apps are free, forever.

It’s been five years since I launched the first version of Explore Shanghai for iPhone, and a lot has changed in the app market. Most apps are now free to download, and people’s appetite for paid apps is declining. I’m still confident that the ExploreMetro apps are Asia’s best metro maps, and with your help they can be the most popular too!

If you download an app for the first time, you can use nearly all the features of the app for free, including search, route-planning and street maps. Certain features such as first/last train times, audio pronunciations of stations and offline street maps are now premium features. You can upgrade any app to VIP mode to get all premium features, and remove banner ads.

If you’ve ever downloaded a paid version of the app you are entitled to continue using all the premium features for free, forever. If you have any problems restoring your purchase, please contact us!

Tell your friends… tell the world… Asia’s best metro maps are now FREE!

Travel direct to Taipei 101 on the new Taipei Metro Xinyi Line

The Taipei Metro has opened the Xinyi Line, a major extension to Red Line services.

The new extension starts runs between Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and Xiangshan, with intermediate stations at Dongmen, Daan Park, Daan, Taipei 101/World Trade Center and Xinyi Anhe.

There are interchange stations with Orange Line trains at Dongmen and Brown Line trains at Daan.

There are now two Red Line services. Trains from Beitou will run directly to Xiangshan, while trains from Tamsui will run via the Green Line to Xindian.

Additionally, the Xiaonanmen Line has been extended, trains will now run from Ximen to Taipower Building.

We’ve updated our online map at taipei.exploremetro.com, updates to our iOS and Android apps will be available soon.

Zoom in with our latest Android metro map updates!

The most popular request on our feedback forum has consistently been to add zooming to our metro map apps for Android. Today, we’re making that happen with version 2.0 of our maps for Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Singapore, Seoul, Taipei and Hong Kong.

There are three easy ways to zoom:

Use the zoom buttons to zoom in or out
Double tap to quickly zoom in by one zoom level
Make a pinch gesture to zoom in or out

We’ll continue to make improvements to the map based on your feedback.

And we have a bonus feature for everyone running Android 3.0 or higher! When you tap on a station and choose a street map, you can now choose between a Google Map, and a offline street map, provided by OpenStreetMaps. So now, even if you’re offline, you can still quickly check the area around a station.

If you like the new features, we’d really appreciate your reviews in Google Play!

Dongmen Station opens in Taipei, connecting the Orange line

A new station has opened on the Taipei Metro at Dongmen on the Orange Line. Located between the interchange stations at Guting and Zhongxiao Xinsheng, the new station connects the two previously separate halves of the Orange Line: trains now run all the way from Nanshijiao to Luzhou and Fu Jen University. To reach stations on the Red or Green lines, you should now change at Guting. Here’s a snippet of the metro map before and after the changes:

Before

After

We’ve updated our Taipei Metro online metro map with the new station and routes. We’ll be updating our apps for iPhone and Android soon, once pricing and timetable information for the new line is confirmed.

Go ad-free with ExploreMetro VIP on Android

Since we launched our apps for Android on Google Play they’ve been available free, in order to reach as many people as possible! To help support the costs of development, we included an ad banner at the bottom of the screen.

Lots of people sent us feedback to let us know they wouldn’t mind paying a few dollars to remove the ads. So we’ve launched Explore Metro VIP for Android! It’s really simple to use:

1. Update any existing ExploreMetro map map apps you have already downloaded from Google Play to the latest version, that’s version 1.1

2. Visit http://exploremetro.com/vip or go to Help > Remove ads to download our VIP app.
3. Now you’re a VIP!

One purchase means you can enjoy all seven of our metro maps ad-free (Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Seoul, Taipei, Hong Kong, Singapore) for one low price!

How do I become a VIP?

Download the app from Google Play at exploremetro.com/vip

Once I’ve installed the VIP app, what do I do?

Bask in your awesomeness. You can then download and install any of our Android apps, and the ad banner will be gone! Please leave the VIP app installed so we know you’re a VIP!

I can’t download the VIP app from Google Play?

The VIP app is a paid app, and Google restricts which countries are allowed to download paid apps. For example, the United States and Singapore are OK, but China doesn’t currently allow paid apps.

I installed the app, but there are still ads?

Make sure you have version 1.1 installed of the metro map apps (Help>Version to check). If you uninstall the ExploreMetro VIP app, we won’t be able to detect that you are a VIP. You’ll need to download it again.

Coming soon: step-by-step routeplanning and sharing in our iPhone apps

We’ve been busy this summer preparing a new version of our awesome metro maps for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. Version 7 will be available soon – but here’s a sneak preview, as well as information on how to get the new version first by joining our beta-testing program.

Route-planning is a really useful part of our apps: in fact over 15,000 routes are planned every day using our iPhone apps! In the current version, the fastest route is shown directly on the map like this:

In version 7, we’re adding written step-by-step directions, like this:

Every step of the way, you have clear instructions of which line to take, and which direction. What’s more, you can easily share the route instructions, by email, SMS/iMessage, Twitter or copying to clipboard:

We even automatically shorten the route directions to fit more easily into an SMS message.

If you’d like to try out the new routeplanning features, sign up to our beta-testing program.

And there’s more! Once iOS6 is launched later this year we’ll be adding more great features, including:

Point-to-point directions integrated into the built-in Maps app
Sharing via Sina Weibo

Our beta metro maps are now the default on modern browsers

We’ve switched over to make the new beta metro maps the default version when you visit one of our sites in a modern browser. If you’re using Internet Explorer 6, 7 or 8 you’ll be automatically redirected to the old Flash version. And don’t worry, our Flash maps are not going away – you can switch back to the old version at any time by choosing “don’t use beta”.

Thanks for everyone who submitted feedback for the beta versions, we plan to actively develop the new versions of the maps to make them even better! If you have any suggestions, get in touch via our support site.

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