Ma made the call while addressing a cycling activity marking "Taiwan Bike Day," which was jointly sponsored by the Sports Affairs Council, the Taipei city government and the Cycling Life-Style Foundation. Bike Day was also observed in 24 other cities and counties around the island.

The president-elect said he was happy to see more and more bike lanes being built in every county and city in Taiwan to promote biking as an alternative means of transportation, and he expressed the hope that local governments will introduce sound and more comprehensive biking-related laws to protect the safety of cyclists.

Ma, who served as Taipei mayor from 1998 through 2006, noted that the bike paths in the capital city have been extended from 26 kilometers originally to 60 km.

"I am confident that cycling will become an environmentally friendly mode of transportation in the city," he said.

Around 10,000 cyclists, led by Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin, rode their bikes from Tachia Riverside Park to the square in front of the Presidential Office in observance of Bike Day, where a bike jamboree was held.

At the event, all the members of the "Rolling Rose" cycling team, comprised of career women, were awarded certificates for completing a 12-day round-the-island cycling trip.

The Rolling Rose riders, led by Giant Group Executive Vice President Tu Hsiu-chen, departed Taipei April 22. They rode along the west coast to Kenting in Pingtung, southern Taiwan, from which they took a boat to the offshore isle of Lanyu to continue their round-the-island ride.