Miyazaki Kotsu and Yamato Transport will begin trial operations of the “Nekomiya Bus,” a route bus-style public rideshare service, in the Hyuga and Irigo areas of Miyazaki Prefecture on October 1.
The service will operate on the same routes and use the same bus stops as Miyazaki Kotsu’s existing route buses. Fares, boarding procedures, and payment methods will also be the same as those for regular route buses. Some regular route bus services will continue to operate in parallel during the trial period. Yamato Transport parcels will be loaded into a cargo-only space at the rear of the vehicles at Michi-no-Eki Togo roadside station, then handed over to drivers waiting at bus stops within the delivery and collection area. This will be the first route bus-style public rideshare service in Kyushu to carry both passengers and parcels at the same time. The trial will run through March 31, 2027.
The routes are: the Michi-no-Eki Togo–Tsukahara–Oshidani route (Oshidani Line), with eight services per day over 49.9 kilometers; the Michi-no-Eki Togo–Mikado/Hamasunabashi route (Mikado Line), with nine services per day over 30.6 kilometers; and the Michi-no-Eki Togo–Ikeno route (Ikeno Line), with two services per day over 5.7 kilometers. The service is expected to use three large one-box vans, each capable of carrying up to four passengers.
The region is experiencing population decline and aging, making it a challenge to maintain transportation options for residents. Route buses, the only public transportation connecting the wider area, face difficulties in continuing operations due to declining ridership, rising fuel prices, and an aging and insufficient driver workforce.
Meanwhile, Yamato Transport has been making two daily round trips from its Hyuga Sales Office for delivery and collection operations in the area, with each one-way journey taking around 90 minutes. Maintaining service quality while improving operational efficiency had become a challenge. Through this initiative, the company will reduce these operations to one round trip per day.
The initiative is being carried out with support from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism’s “Comprehensive Redesign and Expansion Project for Eliminating Transportation Deserts,” Miyazaki Prefecture, Hyuga City, Misato Town, Morotsuka Village, and Shiiba Village. The two companies aim to begin full-scale operations in April 2027.
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This article was generated using automatic translation by GPT-4 API. The translation may not be accurate.
