Engan Bus will discontinue the Haboro-Kotanbetsu route starting April 1.
The route currently runs one round trip from Haboro Terminal, through Tomamae Shimocho, KamiTaira, to Kotanbetsu. With this discontinuation, stops at Tomamae Shimocho, Minami Hama, and Horonai, which are only served by this route, will also be abolished. Passengers will need to use stops along National Route 232, which are served by other routes.
The section from KamiTaira to Kotanbetsu on the to-be-discontinued Haboro-Kotanbetsu route will be transferred to the KamiTaira-Kotanbetsu route and will operate at the same times. By transferring at KamiTaira, passengers from the Hiyama Betsu area to the Rumoi area and from the Rumoi area to Haboro Terminal can continue to use the service between Haboro Terminal and the KamiTaira-Kotanbetsu area almost without any changes. This service began operating in March 1987 as a substitute bus following the discontinuation of the National Railways Haboro Line.
