Where can you live in Taiwan without a car in 2026?

Taipei and linked New Taipei districts are the strongest case. The MRT, city buses, and YouBike 2.0 docks at station plazas cover most errands when you live in Da'an, Zhongshan, Xinyi, Banqiao, or other rail-served cores. An EasyCard (stored-value transit card) or iPASS taps metro, buses, and YouBike after registration. Many residents buy a TPASS monthly pass for unlimited MRT, city bus, and YouBike first rides instead of owning a garage. Daily rhythm for capital life is in living in Taipei.

Kaohsiung is workable without a car in the dense heart. Two metro lines plus the circular light rail link Central Park, Formosa Boulevard, Pier-2, Zuoying high-speed rail, and the airport corridor. Coverage is thinner than Taipei's web, so pick a flat inside that cross rather than an outer industrial edge. See living in Kaohsiung. Taichung can work if you stay near the Green Line, West District, or strong bus corridors and accept longer walks; many households still add a scooter because one metro line does not replace island-style door-to-door trips. Tainan leans harder on buses, Taiwan Railways (TRA) local trains, and scooters; car-free weeks are possible in the old-city core but feel slower than Taipei.

East-coast towns, mountain villages, and many outer industrial parks lose evening frequency and force long walks with shopping bags. Weekend trailheads for outdoor recreation often work by TRA or high-speed rail plus a short bus, yet remote parking lots remain car or scooter territory. Inside cities, scooters are the common middle path: cheaper parking than a car, faster last-mile than a sparse bus, and still unnecessary if your week never leaves MRT-and-YouBike range.

Budget the pass you will actually use. Line items for TPASS, fibre, and mobile sit in utilities, internet, and transport. YouBike culture is real along riverside paths and station plazas; the habit is part of cycling culture, not only tourist photography. Skip licence exchange until a real weekly trip demands it: convert a driving licence. When you view flats, ask about bike storage, night last trains, and the supermarket walk, not only daytime map pins.