Conclusion

In order to improve local transportation and reduce Traffic Refugees, we have presented solutions and field surveys.
By the way, there are two major ways to improve local transportation.

Which is more feasible, 1 or 2? We think that 2 is predominantly feasible.

There is a story called "North wind and sun" in the Aesop fable. This story is often used as a lesson with many interpretations under various situations.

North wind and sun compared their power that which can take off traveller’s coat.
The north wind tried to blow the wind to brush away the coat. However, traveller suppressed his coat so that the coat did not be blown and traveller felt cold and wore more coat.
On the other hand, the sun tried to take off the coat by heating. As a result of heating, traveller started to take off his coat.
Finally, the sun won the competitive strength.
(Source : From Aesop's fable, we gathered up)

This story can be applied to comparison between 1 and 2 before.
1 seemingly looks like a warm and good story, but it has a dangerous aspect.

Even if residents actively ride to maintain an inconvenient transportation, will they last for a long time? Thinking normally, it will not last. Also, even if companies or local governments survive temporary situation, they cannot see the outlook afterwards and lack sustainability.
Therefore, rather than users try hardly, companies which operate public transportation or local governments make an effort to improve and “To get customers to get on”. The second leads to the essential solution of the problem.

Also, when people argue about social problem, some people say like “many people should be interested in ○○ problem”. However, there is less possibility of that. To strengthen the possibility, it is needed to aim to solve radically and to think specific solution. To do so, sustainability become higher.

Therefore, we do not say like “let’s take transportation in your town” to you because it has less sustainability. We think what should operator take measures against inconvenient transportation.
In this page, based on things which we said in this website, we claim our conclusion for future.

※In this website, we aim the improvement of transportations by using current technology, we will not say about future technology such as innovation of self-driving, so please note it.

Our discussion dialect script:
Record of discussion(reference)

Community bus

Changing route is necessary when something inconvenient occured.
As we argued on the page “Route change”, circulation route spend much time, so operator should change route like line route. By changing route, improvement of budget and efficiency is prospected. As users’ eyes, they can use community bus easily because route becomes simple.

Hyogo prefecture argues in “Community bus · Assessment guidelines”.

○ If the required time and distance are too long, the bus become inconvenient and spend much cost, so it is desirable to limit them by rule.
○According to data in Hyogo prefecture, the most lines whose profit rate is over 20% is in 40 minutes and 20km. Therefore, required time and distance of community bus should be less than 40 minutes and 20km.

As Hyogo prefecture says, lines whose profit rate is better run efficient route. Moreover, detour route causes inconvenience. As you are severe at time, it is clear that if required time increases, convenience decreases.
Therefore, Hyogo prefecture suggests like the picture about route change of circulation route.

Route change as the picture is essential to operate community bus efficiently and sustainably.

Then, after changing route, it is essential to operate community bus invested by stores. community bus is for residents who live in region without public transportation. Therefore, community bus must be for daily use as normal bus and railway.
However, many community bus route is via only hospital and public facility. Certainly, elderly people need transportations which go hospital and public transportations. However, frequency of going to the facilities is less than frequency of shopping.

The graph is statistics which is about going out somewhere by Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. According to this graph, as a purpose of going out, you can see there are more shopping circumstances than going to hospital.
Also, recently, big shopping center usually opens. To go to there, you can eat lunch, enjoy something; movie, game center and so on.

Therefore, we think community bus should operate to meet the shopping demand. Then, we think stores should invest community bus. As we say in “Invested by stores” page, bus stop can be built in stores’ parking, store can promote coming to the store because the bus can access directly and they can make the system combined with community bus; coupon system etc. to promote consumption.

Moreover, if stores invest to community bus, there are merits in CSR perspective. They can meet social responsibility to operate sustainable transportation which reduce area without transportations.

In conclusion, there are both stores’ and customers’ merits. Therefore, community bus can be sustainable transportation.

Bus

Spin-off is effective on surface. however, this is not sustainable because in many cases, un-profitable section is only divided.
Combi loading should be promoted more and more at bus.
As we said in “Conbi Loading” , “Miyazaki Kotsu” and “Northern Iwate Transportation” pages, conbi loading has merit for bus company and shipping company. Therefore, combi loading should be promoted in erea which is good for combi loading.
In addition, loading of passengers leads to fulfilling the CSR of the shipping company, just as a shop contributes to the community bus.

Subsidy is essential for transportations which is in crisis as we said. However, subsidy system should change from now.
In specific, the subsidy rule should be more strict to improve current situation; be criticized as waste money. After paying subside, company and government should make effort to operate without subsidy and continue to check the the number of usage and financial affairs of company.

Also, there is a possibility that government pay subsidy to company that operates combi loading. By doing so, promotion of combi loading may occur.

Also, it is premise, it is essential to improve soft side. Although there are cases that community bus provides information by numbering route or bus stops, there are many cases that normal bus provide less information and complicated information.

The photo is bus stop information of Kanachu Fujisawa depot in Kanagawa prefecture. All bus stops are written and you can know fare before riding. This is easy to understand route map.
Despite of old bus stop, making a paper enable to enhance information.

Also, as “Samukawa-Ebina bus”, there are routes which is good at access to sightseeing spots. In addition, some routes may become bypass route of railway whose the number of trains is low. Such useful route is almost unknown, so it is big waste. It should be used more and more.
Therefore, bus company should make advertisement in bus stop. By doing so, the value will rise as transport network including railway and community bus.

Railway

First, shifting to a sightseeing line is important to operate railway continuously. For example, Fujikyu railway was able to make a big profit by shifting to a sightseeing line and number of trains are running. By doing so, Fujikyu railway can provide train which is convenient for local residents.

Also, we thought combi loading is good measures as buses. As mentioned above, by doing combi loading, railway company can gain extra profit, so combi loading is necessary in the regional railway which is suffering from deficit.
Moreover, short organization and high frequency operation is great measure. By doing so, number of train increase, so railways become very convenient.

Also, capital investment to take measure mentioned above should be done positively. As we argued in “Improve efficiency”, positive capital investment may occur extra effect.

Also, shifting to bus should be considered when passengers are too low.
Nowadays, there are many cases that bus lines which are converted from unprofitable train lines, lack the business efforts to improve its profitability, and lead to line closure. Nevertheless, by making business efforts by applying “Combi loading” and subsidies which are mentioned above, the company would be able to regain profit, and the rail-shifted bus lines would be able to get sustainably, compared to the railway which was operated before.

In addition, converting railway lines to the LRT transportation is recommended, with a proviso. As we mentioned earlier in the “LRT” section above, there are specific situations which are suitable for LRT conversion such as,

①The rails are able to convert to LRT rails, so the time, effort, and cost for introducing the LRT would be less
②There are many residents in the alongside of the line, so a certain number of passengers would be expected
③There are financial support from the government

Since the light rail is low cost and has a large transportation capacity, there is a possibility that it will be useful as a leg of regional transport if it is introduced.

Finally, when converting to the third sector, we should not only switch, but also take measures like those mentioned above. Just making it into the third sector is not sustainable and has no promising potential. Even if it is converted to the third sector, it will only follow the path to the waste line.
When it is converted into the third sector, it is often separated from a big company and it is possible to operate a small scale, making it easy to establish a new station and tourism.
Therefore, when converting to the third sector, we should not only switch, but also take measures like those mentioned above.

Finally

Thank you for reading our articles.
This conclusion is a conclusion which we came up by searching on literatures and web sites, and also field works all over Japan. This website is the result of our hardship and effort, so we are really glad that you watching this website.
This conclusion is a conclusion which we came up by searching on literatures and web sites, and also field works all over Japan. This website is the result of our hardship and effort, so we are really glad that you watching this website.

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