Taoyuan Airport to Taipei: Airport MRT, Bus, Taxi and the HSR Connection

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You have just landed at Taoyuan International Airport (桃園國際機場, TPE) and the city is not next door: the airport sits in Taoyuan, and every way into Taipei takes at least half an hour. There are four realistic options. The Airport MRT is the default for almost everyone. The intercity buses are the cheapest and run all night. A taxi makes sense for a group with luggage or a very late arrival. And if Taipei is not your first stop, you can ride the MRT one station group south to the High Speed Rail and be in Taichung within the hour.

Every fare, journey time and first or last departure below was checked against the airport, Taoyuan Metro, Highway Bureau, Kuo-Kuang and Taiwan High Speed Rail sites in September 2026. Timetables do change, so treat those sites as the final word on the day you travel.

Airport MRT (機場捷運): the default choice

The Taoyuan Metro Airport Line links both terminals with Taipei Main Station (台北車站), the line's A1 terminus. At Terminal 1 the station is A12 Airport Terminal 1 (機場第一航廈站), down the escalators to B2 from the arrivals hall; at Terminal 2 it is A13 Airport Terminal 2 (機場第二航廈站), also on B2. Two kinds of train share the platforms. The purple Express (直達車) stops only at A1 Taipei Main Station, A3 New Taipei Industrial Park, A8 Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, A12 and A13. The blue Commuter (普通車) stops at every station. They alternate, so a train leaves the airport roughly every 7.5 minutes; if the next one is a Commuter and you are not in a hurry, it is about a quarter of an hour slower and costs exactly the same.

Tickets, cards, and the first and last trains

A single-journey token to Taipei Main Station costs NT$160 from either terminal; buy it with cash at the machines or at the information counter. If you already hold an EasyCard (悠遊卡), iPASS (一卡通), icash or HappyCash, just tap in: the fare is the same NT$160 with no discount, but you skip the queue. The airport stations sell the basic EasyCard and top it up, in multiples of NT$100 at the machines or in any amount at the counter. The Airport Line also sells a NT$320 one-day pass, which only pays for itself if you plan several rides on this one line in a single day, so most visitors can ignore it.

Toward Taipei, the first Express leaves Terminal 2 at 05:55 and Terminal 1 at 05:58, and the last Express leaves at 22:55 from Terminal 2 and 22:58 from Terminal 1. Commuter trains run slightly later: first at 06:04 (T2) and 06:07 (T1), last at 23:35 (T2) and 23:37 (T1). Heading out to the airport, the first Express leaves Taipei Main Station at 05:30 and the last at 23:00; the last Commuter that still reaches the terminals leaves A1 at 23:38.

At Taipei Main Station (A1)

The Airport MRT's A1 station is its own building on the west side of the Taipei Main Station complex, linked by underground walkways to the Taiwan Railway and High Speed Rail hall, to the Taipei Metro Red (Tamsui-Xinyi) and Blue (Bannan) lines, and to Beimen Station on the Green line. It is a long indoor walk with luggage, so budget extra minutes on the way back out. A1 also offers free in-town check-in from 06:00 to 21:30 for same-day departures on China Airlines, Mandarin Airlines, EVA Air, UNI Air, Cathay Pacific and STARLUX: check in and drop your bags at least 180 minutes before departure, then ride out to the airport with only a day bag.

Airport buses (機場巴士): cheapest, and they run all night

Kuo-Kuang Bus (國光客運) route 1819 links both terminals with Taipei Bus Station (台北轉運站), the intercity terminal beside Taipei Main Station, via Zhongshan North Road in about 55 minutes; the 1819B variant via Nankan takes 70 to 80 minutes. Buses leave from the bus waiting area on B1 at Terminal 1 and on the first floor at Terminal 2, and that is where the ticket counters are. The adult fare registered with the Highway Bureau for the full Taipei Bus Station to airport run is NT$133 on a four-row-seat coach and NT$164 on a three-row-seat coach (NT$155 with the discount fare), so expect a figure in that range and check the counter board before you pay.

The 1819 is also the airport's around-the-clock lifeline. On the Highway Bureau timetable, buses toward Taipei leave the airport at 00:20, 00:30, 00:40, 00:50, 01:05, 01:20, 01:40, 01:50, 02:00, 02:30, 02:50, 03:10, 03:40, 04:10, 04:40, 05:00, 05:20 and 05:50, then at least every 40 minutes through the day until the last three at 23:30, 23:40 and 23:50. From Taipei Bus Station toward the airport there are departures at 00:00, 00:15, 00:30, 00:45, 01:00, 01:20, 02:00, 03:00, 03:30, 03:50, 04:40, 05:10 and 05:40 before the daytime pattern begins at 06:00. Other useful routes from the same bays: Kuo-Kuang 1840, 1841 and 1842 to Songshan Airport (松山機場) on the east side of the city in 50 to 60 minutes, 1843 to Nangang Exhibition Center in about 80 minutes, and Evergreen Bus (大有巴士) 1960 to the Taipei City Hall area in 60 to 70 minutes.

• Buy at the counter, not on the bus, and keep the ticket for the driver. Large luggage goes in the hold; take valuables on board.
• Taipei Bus Station is a short indoor walk from Taipei Main Station and the Red and Blue metro lines, but the walk with bags is longer than it looks on a map.
• If your hotel is around Zhongshan North Road, the 1819 stops there on the way in; ask at the counter which stops your bus makes.

Taxi (計程車): door to door, on the meter plus tolls

Official airport taxis wait at Terminal 1 arrivals hall, first floor, west side, Door 12, and at Terminal 2 arrivals hall, first floor, in the lane opposite Door 26 on the west side. Every car and driver in the queue is vetted by the Aviation Police, and the queue runs 24 hours a day. Fares run on the meter, with highway tolls added on top; the queue operator's own estimate for Taipei City is NT$1,200 to 1,900, so for three or four people with bags it comes close to the MRT cost per person. Drivers in the official queue take cash and, according to the operator, credit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, LINE Pay and JKOPAY. Between 00:00 and 06:00 the taxi service centers also arrange shared rides (T1 03-383-4499, T2 03-398-2022).

Skipping Taipei: transfer to the High Speed Rail at A18

If your trip starts in Taichung, Tainan or Kaohsiung, do not go into Taipei first. Take the Commuter train from either terminal toward Zhongli to A18 HSR Taoyuan Station (高鐵桃園站): about 20 minutes and NT$35 from Terminal 2, and a few peak-hour Express trains do it in 17. The MRT station connects straight into the HSR station. Standard-car reserved-seat fares from Taoyuan are NT$540 to Taichung (台中) in 30 to 41 minutes depending on the stops, NT$1,190 to Tainan (台南) in 1 hour 12 to 1 hour 37, and NT$1,330 to Zuoying (左營), the HSR station for Kaohsiung, in 1 hour 24 to 1 hour 51. Non-reserved (自由座) tickets are a little cheaper at NT$520, NT$1,150 and NT$1,290.

Early-bird fares at 35, 20 or 10 percent off are sold online, in the T-EX app and at convenience stores until five days before travel, in limited numbers and only for reserved standard seats; they cannot be bought at the station. Without a booking, buy at the machines or counter at Taoyuan and take the next train: departures are frequent all day.

Read the full description

機場捷運直達車 35 到 39 分、普通車 49 到 52 分到台北車站，票價 NT$160；國光 1819 巴士約 55 分到台北轉運站，全票 NT$133 到 164；計程車跳表加高速公路過路費，機場排班車估 NT$1,200 到 1,900；機捷普通車約 20 分、NT$35 到高鐵桃園站 A18，再搭高鐵到台中 30 到 41 分 NT$540、台南 1 小時 12 分到 1 小時 37 分 NT$1,190、左營 1 小時 24 分到 1 小時 51 分 NT$1,330。/ Airport MRT Express 35 to 39 minutes and Commuter 49 to 52 minutes to Taipei Main Station for NT$160; Kuo-Kuang bus 1819 about 55 minutes to Taipei Bus Station for NT$133 to 164; taxis on the meter plus highway tolls, estimated NT$1,200 to 1,900; the Commuter train reaches HSR Taoyuan A18 in about 20 minutes for NT$35, then THSR takes 30 to 41 minutes to Taichung for NT$540, 1 hour 12 to 1 hour 37 to Tainan for NT$1,190 and 1 hour 24 to 1 hour 51 to Zuoying for NT$1,330.

Landing late at night or flying out at dawn

• After the last Express (22:55 from T2, 22:58 from T1) and the last Commuter (23:35 from T2, 23:37 from T1), the 1819 bus and the taxi rank are the only options into Taipei.
• Overnight 1819 buses leave the airport for Taipei at least every half hour from 00:20 to 05:50; with a group, a shared taxi arranged at the service center between 00:00 and 06:00 can cost about the same per person.
• For an early flight, the first Express leaves Taipei Main Station at 05:30 and reaches Terminal 1 in 35 minutes; in-town check-in at A1 opens at 06:00, which is too late for the earliest departures, so plan to check in at the terminal.
• If you need to be at the airport before 05:30, the 1819 leaves Taipei Bus Station at 03:00, 03:30, 03:50 and 04:40, or take a taxi.
• Flying into Songshan Airport (松山機場, TSA) in the city instead? The Taipei Metro Wenhu (Brown) line station is at the terminal: NT$25 to Taipei Main Station with one change at Zhongxiao Fuxing, or NT$20 to Zhongxiao Fuxing itself in the eastern shopping district.

Before you land: entry, cash and cards

Most visitors enter Taiwan visa-free: passport holders from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, the EU and Schengen countries, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and South Korea get 90 days, while Singapore and Malaysia get 30. The Bureau of Consular Affairs (BOCA) keeps the definitive list. Your passport needs six months of validity, you may be asked for an onward ticket, and everyone fills in the free online Taiwan Arrival Card within seven days before arrival, so do it at your departure gate at the latest.

Cash still matters at the airport: the bus counters and the taxi meter are cash-first even where cards are accepted, and the NT$160 MRT token machines take cash. Withdraw New Taiwan dollars at the arrivals-hall ATMs or change a small amount at the bank counters, then buy an EasyCard (NT$100 for the card itself, non-refundable, plus whatever you load) at the MRT station counter or any 7-ELEVEN, FamilyMart, Hi-Life or OK Mart. From then on the same card pays for the MRT, city buses, YouBike and convenience stores across Taiwan.

Plan the rest of your Taipei days

Taipei Metro and EasyCard guide: fares, passes and YouBike

High Speed Rail and TRA ticket guide for the rest of Taiwan

Where to eat first in Taipei

• Transport
• Budget