Taipei is easy to get around without stairs, mostly thanks to the MRT. Every station has an elevator, a wide gate and accessible toilets, and most city buses are low-floor. The harder parts are on foot: uneven arcades in front of shops, crowded night markets and the hiking trails. This page covers what official sources say, and where I couldn't confirm something, it says so. The short version:
- The MRT is step-free. Every station has an elevator, a wide ticket gate and accessible toilets, and the information counter lends wheelchairs.
- Most buses are low-floor, about 88% of Taipei's city buses, with a ramp and wheelchair spaces.
- Wheelchair-accessible taxis can be booked by phone, at the normal meter fare.
- Big sights vary. The National Palace Museum is well set up; Elephant Mountain is a staircase.
- Discounts usually need a Taiwan card. Many disability concessions are for holders of a Taiwanese disability certificate or ID.
The MRT
Taipei Metro lists these at every station:
- Elevators from street to platform, with longer door times, braille buttons, an intercom to the information counter and room to turn a wheelchair. The station information maps on metro.taipei show which exit has the elevator, so check before you go.
- A wide ticket gate for wheelchairs, strollers and big luggage, with a button to call staff.
- Accessible toilets: all station restrooms are accessible, and stations have a family restroom.
- Wheelchair loans and guiding: the information counter near the gates lends wheelchairs and offers guiding for blind and low-vision passengers.
- Tactile paving at stair ends and platform edges, and platform displays plus announcements for every train.
Getting on the train. On every line the train floor is level with the platform. The gap is about 10 cm on most lines and about 3 cm on the Wenhu (Brown) Line. Taipei Metro advises wheelchair users to board and leave backwards so the small wheels don't catch. On the Red, Green, Orange and Blue lines, wait at the first door of the first car, near the driver; on the Brown Line, the doors at the far ends of the platform are reserved for wheelchairs.
Sign language. Taipei Main, Yuanshan and Songshan Airport stations have a 1999 video sign-language service.
Maokong Gondola
All gondola stations have accessible elevators, and wheelchairs, strollers and mobility scooters can ride if they are no more than 140 cm long, 70 cm wide and 170 cm high. Staff help you on and off, and they can slow the line. Whether wheelchairs fit the glass-floor "Eyes of Maokong" cabins isn't stated, so ask at the station. → Maokong
From the airport
The Airport MRT has accessible elevators and a wide gate at every station, and the information counter lends wheelchairs. Wheelchair spaces are at car 1 door 3, car 2 door 3, car 3 door 1 and car 4 door 1, and staff help with boarding; Taoyuan Metro's customer service is +886-3-286-8789. Taoyuan Airport also lists wheelchair loans and wheelchair-accessible taxis on its own accessibility page; inside the secure area, arrange help through your airline. → Getting to Taipei
Buses
About 88% of Taipei's city buses were low-floor in 2024: no steps, a ramp, a floor that can tilt toward the curb, and one or two wheelchair spaces with belts. Drivers are trained to pull in close and help. How to tell in an app whether the next bus is low-floor isn't something I could confirm, so allow time for the next one. → Riding the bus
Taxis
- Wheelchair-accessible taxis. Taipei's accessible taxis can be booked 24 hours a day through the city's listed fleet on 412-8333, or toll-free on 0800-055850 then #3 (from a mobile: 55850 then #3). Book early. The fare is the normal meter, paid in cash or by EasyCard, and the car takes one wheelchair user plus up to four others.
- The rehab bus (復康巴士) is a subsidized service for holders of a Taiwanese disability certificate, booked days ahead.
→ Taxis, ride apps and airport cars
High speed rail and trains
- High speed rail (THSR). Car 7 has four wheelchair seats (two where you stay in an electric wheelchair, two for folding chairs) and an accessible toilet by the door. Wheelchair seats can't be booked online: book at a station ticket window, by phone or by Live Chat, from 29 days ahead until an hour before the train. Chairs can be up to 125 cm long, 90 cm wide and 185 cm high, and station staff can meet you if you book the guide service.
- Taiwan Railway (TRA). Wheelchair seats can be booked online or in the railway's app. On the day, check in at the station service counter so staff can help you board, and call ahead in case an elevator is out of service.
Sights: what to expect
- National Palace Museum. Well set up: a marked step-free route, wheelchair loans at the Exhibition Hall I checkroom, elevators, accessible toilets on 1F and B1, a sign-language video guide, a braille map and a described audio guide. Guide and service dogs are allowed. → National Palace Museum
- Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall. Free manual wheelchairs at the information desk or first-aid station, first come, first served. → Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall
- Taipei 101 Observatory. It lists an accessible passenger service but gives no details online, so ask at the 1F ticket counter. Its "special needs" ticket price needs a Taiwan ID. → Taipei 101
- Taipei Zoo. All of its public restrooms are equipped for disabled visitors, and strollers can be rented. → Taipei Zoo
- Beitou Hot Spring Museum. The city lists accessible paths and corridors and an audio guide for visually impaired visitors. → Beitou
- Elephant Mountain. The trail is a steep flight of stairs, so it isn't suitable for wheelchairs or strollers. For a city view without stairs, Taipei 101's observatory is the alternative. → Elephant Mountain
- Night markets and old streets. Expect crowds shoulder to shoulder in the evenings and at weekends. An early evening on a weekday is the calmer time. → Night markets
On the street
The covered arcades (騎樓) in front of shops are meant to be walkways, and Taipei has been leveling them since about 2001, but because they are private frontage, the floor still changes height in places and parked scooters can block them. → Everyday Taipei
Finding a toilet. MRT stations are the most reliable accessible toilets in the city. The Ministry of Environment's public-toilet map, in its 環境即時通 app, can filter for accessible toilets.
Help in English
Taiwan's tourism information line, 0800-011765, runs 24 hours. Taipei's 1999 city hotline also has an English line (+886-2-2720-8889 from outside Taipei). → Hotlines that answer in English
Check for yourself. This is what official sources said when I checked (November 2026). Elevators go out of service and services change, so confirm with the operator or venue before you travel, especially for anything you can't do without.
Sources
MRT facilities: Taipei Metro, facilities inside the station, platform gaps and Department of Rapid Transit Systems. Maokong Gondola: Taipei Metro, gondola accessibility. Airport MRT: Taoyuan Metro; airport: Taoyuan International Airport. Buses: Taipei Department of Transportation. Accessible taxis: Taipei Department of Transportation; rehab bus: Taipei Public Transportation Office. High speed rail: THSR; Taiwan Railway: TRA. Sights: National Palace Museum, Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, Taipei 101, Taipei Zoo, Department of Cultural Affairs (Beitou Hot Spring Museum), Geotechnical Engineering Office (Elephant Mountain trail). Arcades: Taipei City Construction Management Office. Toilet map: Ministry of Environment. Travel information line: Taiwan Tourism Administration. Checked November 2026.