How the five lines split a day
Red links Beitou, Shilin, the station, the memorial, 101 and Xiangshan — but not Beitou and Xiangshan as one ride. Blue links Longshan, Ximen, the station and City Hall. Green links Zhongshan, Ximen and Gongguan. Orange links Xingtian, Zhongxiao Xinsheng and Dongmen. Brown links the zoo, Da'an, Songshan Airport, Jiannan Road and Dahu; Dazhi and Dahu are still two days, not one ride because they share a line. Get off along one axis. A transfer is an exception, not a sight. Two ends of one line can still be two days. On the brown line, do not ride to the end and bounce back. Keep this stretch inside two hours. Note the metro exit before you start, leave as soon as you have seen or eaten, and do not queue a second door.
EasyCard, iPASS, and a day pass that is not frozen
EasyCard or iPASS pay per ride; a single-journey token also works. A metro day-pass price and what it covers follow Taipei Metro's current notice. This site does not freeze a number or keep last season's fare in the guide. One axis and few rides: pay-per-ride is usually enough. Who looks at a day pass: several cross-station hops in a day, and only if the notice still pays off. Last trains sit around midnight — trust the station board. Count the day's actual rides before you pay per ride. Do not buy a day pass first. Stop once in the middle. When you have eaten or looked, walk on. Do not turn passing shops into a list, and go back by the station you came in on.
Airport metro and the gondola are separate fares
The Taoyuan Airport metro to Taipei Main Station is a separate fare from the city metro. EasyCard or iPASS can pay, as another charge. The Maokong Gondola is another fare at Taipei Zoo station; if the board says stopped, do not switch to the mountain path. Xinbeitou is a Red-line branch. Yangmingshan needs the park bus — a city metro ticket does not reach Gezhi Road. Do not assume a day pass includes the airport, the gondola or the mountain bus. The gondola and the mountain bus each follow their own notice. Do not fold them into the city ticket. Stop the day here. Leave the other district for tomorrow. Do not add a stop before the last train, and trust the station board over this guide.