"Kiss and ride" signs stump Taiwan rail passengers; Germany backtracks and decides to get rid of "Kiss and Ride" signs in English, reports the New York Times NICHOLAS KULISH

TAIPEI / BERLIN -- 2010

English-language "kiss and ride" signs at passenger drop-off areas along Taiwan's high-speed rail line often confuse passengers in a society where sendoffs are normally not intimate. However, in Germany, where a new sense of German pride is quickly changing the landscape, signs in English that read "Kiss and Ride" will soon be a thing of the past.

The German railway company Deutsche Bahn promised earlier this year to change its English-language signs after a school principal complained to the media about the use of English-language terms like “hot line,” “service point” and “kiss and ride.” , the Times reported recently.

White-on-blue signs at the seven stations along the 345-kilometre (214-mile) Taiwan high speed railway use the colloquialism seen at some U.S. stations and airports which refers to an area where drivers can drop off their passengers, usually a spouse, in the morning and pick them up in the evening, often with an embrace.

The Chinese-language version does not use the word "kiss".

"The English words 'kiss and ride' are a mystery to most local people," said D. H. Bloom, a U.S.-born blogger in the Taiwan. "It implies that this is a place to kiss and then ride somewhere, but public kissing at train stations in Taiwan is a rarity."

The signs were posted about two years ago, a year after railway planners learnt that "kiss and ride" was used in Western countries, said a spokesman for the railway line operator, Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp.

High-speed rail authorities say they do not see a problem with the signs.

However, in Germany, where a new sense of German pride is quickly changing the landscape, signs in English that read "Kiss and Ride" will soon be a thing of the past, according to the New York Times.

The German railway company Deutsche Bahn promised earlier this year to change its English-language signs after a school principal complained to the media about the use of English-language terms like “hot line,” “service point” and “kiss and ride.” , the Times reported recently.