Japan Aims to Eliminate Areas Lacking Transportation

Tokyo, March 10 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese government adopted at a cabinet meeting Tuesday a bill designed to eliminate areas underserved by transportation services such as buses and taxis. The bill to revise the law on local public transportation systems calls on municipalities to provide financial support and simplify procedures for passenger service providers that share vehicles and drivers in these areas. The government assumes that school buses or shuttle vehicles for day care services can be used to jointly offer rides to citizens for a fee during their idle times. According to the transport ministry, there were about 2,000 areas lacking transportation nationwide as of April 2025. The ministry aims to promote countermeasures during an intensive period through the end of fiscal 2027. The law currently supports efforts to address a lack of transportation services in some areas, such as shared taxi services and ride-hailing services, in which private drivers transport passengers for a fee using their personal vehicles. The revised law will also oblige bus and taxi operators to provide passenger data in principle when requested by local governments to compile measures to eliminate underserved areas. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]