2-IV_pm

[138] Proposal for sustainable route bus services considering regional cooperation

– Equalized fare system by subscription –

○Masaki Ito¹, Riku Takeda², Mamoru Taniguchi³ (1. Graduate School of System andInformation Engineering, University of tsukuba, 2. School of Science and Engineering, University of Tsukuba, 3. Faculty of Systems and Information Engineering, University of Tsukuba)

Keywords:Route bus, Subscription, Equalized fare system, Wide area cooperation

In recent years, the decline of public transport services has been regarded as an important difficulty because of population decline and motorization in rural areas. This situation has particularly affected route buses, for which passenger numbers have declined. Financial circumstances of their operating companies have worsened. Companies have been compelled to abolish deficit-ridden lines. If it is necessary that society support bus routes for rural area residents as a basic service for them, one must examine equalized fare systems by subscription, whereby passengers can take a local bus as long as they pay a fixed amount. In this study, particularly addressing regional cooperation, we examined the feasibility of a system that provides unlimited rides on route buses by sharing costs of maintaining and operating route buses among residents. Results demonstrated that more advanced cooperation over a wider area makes it easier for equalized fares to be introduced.