A total of 100 tourist taxis in eight urban areas of Taiwan are offering foreign travelers another choice for experiencing the country through customized travel routes, a local travel agency said Friday. The organizer of the service, ezTravel, said its cooperative venture with local taxi companies launched that day will benefit in particular backpackers from China once the authorities give a green light to entry to Taiwan by independent travelers. Currently, Chinese tourists are only allowed to travel in Taiwan as part of a tour group. In an interview in July, however, Premier Wu Den-yih said the additional opening measures will take effect late this year or early in 2011, to coincide with the Lantern Festival. 'We are expecting two-thirds of our future clients to be Chinese,' said Jack You, CEO of the agency. He said the 36 designated sightseeing routes connect with major traffic systems such as the Taiwan High Speed Railway and the regular rail network operated by the Taiwan Railway Administration to make traveling more convenient. In the initial stage, You said, contracted taxi drivers will guide tourists around cities such as Taipei, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung at an hourly rate. A four-hour trip in Taipei City, for example, costs NT$2,500 (US$82). The travel model is expected to draw 400,000 tourists over two years and to generate NT$1 billion in revenue, You said. 