Motorbikes are especially popular in Taiwan, which has the highest per capita density in the world with more than one in two people owning one. That’s more than 14 million on the roads in Taiwan and more than 1 million in Taipei alone. They are also a relatively inexpensive mode of transportation that can cost even less than the MRT or bus.
Walking around cities, it’s hard not to notice that although most motorbikes look ordinary and seem almost indistinguishable, some are more visually striking than others. They may have different colors and display decorative themes of animals and other images on their rear sides.
Such distinctive attributes can be closely linked to the behavior and preferences of individual owners and drivers. Motorbikes with decals of dogs or cats, for example, may imply a range of personality traits from more aggressive or violent to more friendly or peaceful. Despite or because of such differences, it remains to be seen whether we can all just get along.