If your job is in the main Hsinchu Science Park, the best commute is a short one. Live in East District and you can cycle. Live near the HSR in Zhubei and you have the park's own shuttle buses and a short drive. Live in the old city centre and buses run straight down Guangfu Road. What we'd steer you away from is a commute that crosses the Touqian River (頭前溪) by car at 8 in the morning without a plan, which is what a lot of people do.
Short answer
Work out which park site and which gate you're going to first. Then pick a home on a shuttle or bus line to it, or close enough to cycle. Drive if you must, but try the route at rush hour before you sign a lease.
Which "Science Park"?
The Hsinchu Science Park Bureau (新竹科學園區管理局) runs several sites, and they're far apart. Your offer letter may say "Hsinchu Science Park" for any of them.
| Site | Where | For a Hsinchu commute |
|---|---|---|
| Hsinchu Science Park (新竹科學園區), the main park | East District, Hsinchu City, and Baoshan, Hsinchu County | The one most people mean. Everything on this page. |
| Hsinchu Biomedical Science Park (新竹生物醫學園區) | Zhubei, next to HSR Hsinchu Station | Easy from Zhubei and the HSR. Linked to the main park by two shuttle lines. |
| Zhunan Science Park (竹南科學園區) | Zhunan, Miaoli County | Reachable from Hsinchu: a park shuttle runs from the main park in about 30 minutes. |
| Tongluo Science Park (銅鑼科學園區) | Tongluo, Miaoli County | A long way from Hsinchu for a daily commute. |
| Longtan Science Park (龍潭科學園區) | Longtan, Taoyuan | Closer to Taoyuan than Hsinchu; the bureau links a Taoyuan city bus timetable for it. |
| Yilan Science Park (宜蘭科學園區) | Yilan County | Not a Hsinchu commute. |
The main park is big, so check which gate and building you'll use, not just the park. The bureau's offices are at No. 2, Xin'an Road, East District, and most of its shuttles start from the Science and Technology Life Center (科技生活館) inside the park.
The park shuttles (巡迴巴士)
The Science Park Bureau runs five weekday shuttle lines. They don't run on weekends or national holidays. You flag them down at the stop, and at rush hour they're slower than the timetable suggests: the bureau's own timetable warns that peak-hour roads are congested and asks riders to wait early. The timetable doesn't list a fare.
| Line | Route | Hours (weekdays) |
|---|---|---|
| Orange (橘線) | Life Center, Costco, Hakka Cultural Park, HSR Hsinchu Station, Biomedical park | Irregular, roughly two an hour at peak, about 07:00 to 21:20; 15 to 25 min one way |
| Green Energy (綠能線) | Life Center, the Experimental High School, Jinshan Street, Zhuzhong TRA Station, HSR Hsinchu Station, Biomedical park | Roughly 06:30 to 21:35; 15 to 25 min one way |
| Red (紅線) | Life Center, the park's staff housing, NYCU, Guangfu Road and 公學新村, then park phases 1 and 2 | 06:30 to 21:00, every 15 to 30 min |
| Green (綠線) | Life Center, Guangfu Road and the NTHU stop, then park phase 3 | 06:45 to 20:30, every 15 to 30 min |
| Purple (紫線) | Main park (Xin'an stop) to the Zhunan park and back | 06:30 to about 20:10; about 30 min one way |
The Red and Green lines reverse direction from 15:00, so the morning loop goes toward the factories and the evening loop toward the homes. One telling detail from the timetable: the Red line's Guangfu Road section takes 45 to 50 minutes at peak and 20 to 30 minutes off-peak. That's the rush hour in one number. Shuttle information line: 0928-033019.
Good to know: many larger employers run their own staff buses, but not all do, and routes depend on the company. Ask HR before you choose where to live.
By where you live
Times below are our rough estimates for door-to-door trips to the middle of the main park, outside rush hour. At peak times, and in heavy rain, add a lot.
| Living in | Best options | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Zhubei, HSR / Liujia area | BUS Orange or Green Energy shuttle from the HSR; CAR or scooter | Shuttles take 15 to 25 min from the HSR. Driving crosses the Touqian River. |
| Zhubei, County Hall area | BUS County Express 1; car or scooter | Express 1 runs weekdays from County Hall to Jinshan Street in the park, 38 trips each way, 06:30 to 21:00 (back until 21:30). |
| East District: Guanpu, Jinshan, Guangfu Road | BIKE YouBike or your own bike; Red and Green shuttles; walk | The shortest commute in Hsinchu. YouBike covers the Science Park. |
| Hsinchu city centre | BUS 182, Pioneer Bus, route 2; car or scooter | All run down Guangfu Road. See the routes below. |
| Zhudong, Baoshan, Qionglin | TRA Neiwan Line to Zhuzhong, then the Green Energy shuttle; County Express 8; car | The shuttle stops behind Zhuzhong Station on Yuanshan Road. |
| Hukou, Xinfeng | BUS County Express 5 to the HSR, then a shuttle; car on Freeway 1 | Freeway traffic is the big variable. |
| Taipei | HSR plus a shuttle; BUS route 1728; car | See below. |
From the city centre by bus
- 182 runs from Beida Bridge (北大橋) through Hsinchu TRA, Guangfu Road, NTHU and NYCU to the Science Park stop, then on to Costco and the HSR. 22 trips a day each way.
- Pioneer Bus (先導公車) follows a similar path, but turns into the NYCU campus and through the Life Center, then on to the HSR and the Biomedical park. On weekdays the first bus leaves Beida Bridge at 05:50.
- Route 2 runs from Hsinchu TRA to NYCU.
The TRA's Xinzhuang Station (新莊車站), on the line to Liujia, first opened under the name "Zhuke" (竹科, Science Park). City buses 52, 53 and 81 start there.
From Zhubei and the HSR
From the Liujia side, the Orange and Green Energy shuttles are the easy answer if your office is near one of their stops. Driving, the main routes cross the Touqian River on bridges such as Jingguo Bridge (經國橋) or Xinglong Bridge (興隆大橋) and Gongdao 5th Road (公道五路). Everyone else is doing the same, so the bridges are where the morning backs up. Express 1 from County Hall is the bus to know on the west side of Zhubei. Our guide to living in Zhubei covers the areas.
From Taipei
It's doable. The fast version is the HSR to Hsinchu (31 to 36 minutes from Taipei Main Station) and a shuttle or taxi from the station. A 30-day HSR commuter pass between Hsinchu and Taipei was NT$8,230 in November 2026. By bus, Asia-Link's route 1728 runs from Ren'ai and Dunhua Roads in Taipei, via Gongguan, Jingmei and Freeway 3, and stops at the Life Center in the park before going on to Hsinchu. It's cheaper and slower, and depends on traffic. Weigh it all up in Hsinchu or Taipei.
Driving, scooters and rush hour
- The pinch points are the approaches: the river bridges from Zhubei, Guangfu Road, Gongdao 5th Road, and the National Freeway 1 interchanges near the park. Inside the park, roads are busiest at shift changes.
- Timing beats route. Leaving 20 minutes earlier, or later, often helps more than any shortcut. Navigation apps with live traffic help.
- Scooters move through traffic faster, and scooter parking is easier to find, but you're riding in the same rain and the same rush.
- Parking: the park's public car parks are listed on the bureau's traffic site, and many employers have their own. Some side gates (便門) open only at set times; the bureau publishes their hours.
Rain: wet mornings bring more cars, slower scooters and longer waits for shuttles. Hsinchu's autumn and winter wind is a factor on a scooter too.
Cycling and YouBike
From East District, cycling is realistic for much of the year. YouBike's Hsinchu system covers Hsinchu City, Hsinchu County and the Science Park, at NT$10 per 30 minutes on a standard bike for the first four hours. With a Taoyuan-Hsinchu-Miaoli TPASS, the first 30 minutes of every ride are free. More in buses, bikes and scooters.
→ East District · Where to live · The HSR station
Sources: Hsinchu Science Park Bureau: transport, shuttle bus timetable and routes (updated September 15, 2026), the list of park sites and the bureau's address; Hsinchu County bus information (routes and stops for Express 1, 5 and 8, 182, Pioneer Bus, 2, 52, 53, 81 and 1728); Highway Bureau bus timetables (182, Pioneer Bus, Express 1, 1728); THSR, commuter pass; YouBike, Hsinchu fares; Neiwan Line station history. Commute times are our estimates. Checked November 2026.