Move toward revitalizing charter bus services
Charter bus services have traditionally been used mostly for the transportation of group travelers and student organizations. In recent years, they have also been used to transport passengers in depopulated communities (based on Article 21 of the Road Transportation Law), and link special event sites with nearby railway stations. However, the number of charter bus users continues to dwindle, as the size of tour groups shrinks and more people use their own cars for traveling. For this reason, charter bus operators are trying to attract more users by introducing microbuses and strengthening sales campaigns. The Ministry of Transport, for its part, is easing the supply-demand adjustment regulation, introducing discount fares, expanding operation territories, and easing minimum number of vehicle requirements. These are all efforts to lighten the burden on these businesses and encourage them to take initiatives to improve the situation and provide greater convenience to service users.
Maintaining lifeline routes
Since 1972, the Ministry of Transport has subsidized essential lifeline routes in rural communities that have become impossible to maintain economically due to a sharp drop in the number of passengers. Before the system expired in 1995, the government set up an advisory panel to examine basic issues related to maintaining rural bus service. It then started a new subsidy program based on the recommendations of that panel. The new program promotes the consolidation and rationalization of rural bus services and classifies communities and routes according to service concentration and average passenger density. This classification is then used to determine who should maintain each route and how much subsidy the government should provide. For routes with average passenger densities of five or more, the operators will remain responsible for maintaining the routes and are encouraged to take a creative approach to revamping the operation. For routes with average passenger densities of five or less, local governments will operate substitute bus services. Measures will be taken to ensure the smooth transition.
