Demand Transportation System

“Demand Transportation System” is different from routine regular traffic. People can mix departure or arrival points and adjust operation schedule as by their circumstance, so there are a lot of operation forms.

Nowadays, the number of passengers are decreasing because of depopulation and aging of society. Therefore, some bus companies which have little passengers withdraw from rural areas, so civils’ choice of transportation is limited.From this current condition, some local governments have started running community buses. However, running community buses costs a lot, so it increases the burden and it is difficult to keep running community buses stadily. Consequently, the number of rural areas which aim to reduce their burden and solve “Transportation blank areas” are increasing. These areas often choose “Demand Transportation System” because its cost-effectiveness is high.

Merit

As mentioned above, “Demand Transportation System” can use by mixing various kinds of transportations according to the user’s circumstances. For example, when an user mix bus and taxi, user do not have to walk from in front of a house to a bus stop. In this way, user can go to destination directly so that Demand Transportation System can carry out an operation which meets the user’s needs. Demand Transportation System can implement transport from door to door so that elderly people who have trouble with long-distance movement by themselves also can use it easily. It is thought that it is easy to use it as a source of transportation to the elderly people who is considered to increase demand in the future as socialization of aging society is advanced curently. Furthermore, it can deal with the areas where users(residents) is dispersing so that have no routine regular traffic, so it is expected to play an important role as “regional feet”.

Also, people usually have to make a reservation before using Demand Transportation System. Therefore, its cost-effectiveness is large and financial burden of operation companies or local governments will be alleviated because it can supply service without excess against users’ demand.

Demerit

First, we thought that Demand Transportation System’s high cost-effectiveness by advance reservation system is merit. However, there is a possibility that some people might have hesitation to reservation system and does not feel free to use Demand Transportation System.
Second, in most of cases, Demand Transportation System carries passengers each destination or departure spot differ. Therefore, it takes long time for stopover and the more the point away from the departure spot, the greater fluctuation happens in the arrival time.
Also, it may happen a conflict with taxi companies that operation system is similar or bus companies in the areas where route buses are also operated. As a result, Demand Transportation System has many similarities so that survival conflict is intense and management status would get worse easily.