Paper short abstract:

Many rural municipalities in Japan are struggling to sustain a sufficient level of public transport due to weak economy, depopulation, and over-aging. The case study of Kyotango City (Kyoto Pref.) searches for new approaches of how to handle the difficulty of limited mobility on the countryside.

Paper long abstract:

Japan is famous for its efficient and reliable public transport service. However, this image is largely based on perceptions of public transport systems in urban areas and not considering socio-spacial inequalities. In contrast, rural municipalities in Japan, which face weak economy as well as serious depopulation and over-aging since decades, are often struggling to sustain a sufficient level of public transport. Most operators of public transport systems such as local bus or railway companies are deep in the red and have to reduce their services leaving white spots on the map (areas without public transport), in particular in so-called "settlements on the edge" (genkai shūraku). The lack of mobility in structurally weak countryside areas leads to difficulties in the daily life of the inhabitants without an own car - i.e., high school students, elderly, and individuals suffering from disabilities - and results eventually in further migration to urban areas.

This paper searches for new approaches of how to improve public transport in rural Japan by analyzing the situation of Kyotango City, Kyoto Prefecture. Located in the Tango Peninsula on the Japan Sea side about two hours away from Kyoto City, Kyotango suffers from the same structural problems as many rural regions in Japan, in particular depopulation and over-aging. However, although facing these tough conditions, the public transport service in Kyotango has significantly improved in the recent years, providing mobility throughout the whole City area. The local bus and railway companies' business became sustainable thanks to reorganization of the ticket system and new marketing strategies. Furthermore, the introduction of community busses as well as several NPOs - using e.g. electric vehicles or the taxi app Uber - largely increased the local public transport service.

This case study, on the one hand, analyzes the different public transport systems and their operators in Kyotango and thus illustrates how sufficient mobility can be realized with limited financial resources in rural Japan. On the other hand, however, it also considers that this coexistence of many public transport operators has led to a rather complicated arrangement of different systems, eventually impossible to simplify.