Department of Rapid Transit Systems

Planning of the Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) System began in 1975. Following the Executive Yuan's approval of the initial Taipei MRT network in April 1986, the Preparatory Office of DORTS was established on June 27 of that year. A reorganization of the Office brought about the Department's formal establishment on February 23, 1987 as a task-force unit under the jurisdiction of Taipei City Government. Based on the organizational rules, DORTS was a temporary government agency which was charged with the important responsibility of implementing Taipei MRT projects. At its inception DORTS consisted of five divisions, one center, and six offices with a total staff of 562.

To meet the requirements of new tasks, such as joint development, quality assurance, and passenger transport services, DORTS was granted approval by the Executive Yuan on March 22, 1989, to add two new units – Division 6 and the Quality Assurance (QA) Center, bringing the staff quota up to 740. 

Later, in conjunction with the establishment of the Taipei Rapid Transit Corporation Preparatory Office, DORTS transferred 188 employees from its Divisions 5 & 6 to the Taipei Rapid Transit Corporation (TRTC). The organizational structure of DORTS was reshuffled accordingly to reflect these changes. On April 8, 1991, the Executive Yuan granted approval to DORTS to make further organizational changes. At that time, DORTS headquarters consisted of 14 units with a staff of 604. 

Following the completion of the initial network and the commencement of commercial services, as development of additional lines continued, fewer lines were under simultaneous construction, and DORTS was then reorganized to adapt to the MRT construction requirements. Taipei City Government reduced DORTS’ staff quota to 546 on April 24, 2003.

With the subsequent abolishment of the Temporary Assigned Worker Assignment Act on June 19, 2015, Taipei City Government announced that an amendment to DORTS’ organization rules had been completed on May 10, 2018, and it went into effect on June 1, 2018. DORTS was transformed into a permanent agency and reorganized into six divisions and five offices with the staff reduced to 459 employees. In addition, according to the original organizational structure, four district project offices (East, North, South, and Central) were merged into the First and Second District Project Offices, and the Systemwide E&M Project Office was also transformed into a permanent agency.