（Complete video recording on Youtube – Live on 01/26 at 18:00）

"If I had the chance, I'd love to ride the Kaohsiung bus one more time, because it holds such beautiful memories for me." Rico, a 39-year-old resident of Cebu City in the Philippines and currently a language school teacher, says that long ago, Taiwan donated buses to Cebu. This was incredibly beneficial for them because jeepneys (the local transportation) were not widely available back then. But once the Kaohsiung buses arrived, children could ride to school for free, saving families on transportation costs. Plus, since the buses were large and children couldn't reach the handles, they would chase and play around on the Kaohsiung buses—becoming one of Rico's most cherished childhood memories.

I initially thought Rico had traveled to Kaohsiung to ride the buses, but it turned out he actually rode them in Cebu—but why?

It turns out that Kaohsiung and Cebu became sister cities in 1970. In December 1989, Kaohsiung's mayor at the time, Su Nancheng, agreed to donate soon-to-be retired public buses to Cebu. As a result, 192 buses, fire trucks, and police vehicles were donated to Cebu City. Over the following 20 years, Kaohsiung's municipal government donated buses to Cebu approximately 10 times, with the last donation on October 1, 2017. (Official information)

Since I stayed in Cebu from September 1 to November 22, 2019 studying business English, I decided to help my teacher fulfill his wish by finding the Kaohsiung bus. We first searched for information online and found only data from before 2011, with no precise location of where the Kaohsiung buses were parked—only photographs. We also asked several other teachers, and they said the Kaohsiung buses are no longer in service. After all, they were already in use starting from the 1950s in Taiwan, and by now nearly 60 years have passed, so naturally they can no longer be used.

(Screenshot from netizen Wu Lingwu's public data)

Later, we set out one day to search for the Kaohsiung bus with no idea of its exact location. We asked police officers and security guards along the way, and finally an employee at the local transportation center told us there was a bus that appeared to be a Kaohsiung bus parked on the first floor. Although its exterior had been repainted, the interior was very similar to Taiwan's old public buses. Many children who couldn't attend school in person also use the bus as a classroom on weekdays.

We also found images of Taipei street scenes from 1964 online, along with photos of buses from that era, which really do resemble the bus we found.

(Photo / Taipei Street Scene from 1964 – Pinterest)

However, when we actually contacted the Kaohsiung Municipal Government for verification, they responded that based on the bus photos I provided, it did not appear to be a vehicle model operated by their bus division. But since the bus division underwent privatization in year 103 (2014), they have no supporting documentation. This means it falls somewhere between being and not being one. (Truly befitting my Kaohsiung City!)

Unable to confirm whether it was truly a Kaohsiung bus, we temporarily declared defeat. However, on November 18, during the week before I left Cebu, I actually found the Kaohsiung bus! It's already out of print in Taiwan, and in recent years, bus enthusiasts have even petitioned to bring Taiwan's old buses back to the island. Will it succeed?! (To be continued in the next episode...)