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Tomohide Azami is an executive advisory engineer in the Urban Development Department of Oyama City, Japan. His research focuses on improving and promoting the use of public transport. He received his Master of Engineering degree from University of Tsukuba in 2009. He joined the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism in 2015 and was sent to Oyama City in 2017 to serve as the Director of the Urban Development Department before assuming his current position in 2021. He is a member of the Japan Society of Civil Engineers, and the City Planning Institute of Japan (CPIJ).
Breaking away from the dependence on cars, increasing the number of public transport users, and securing operational revenues have been posing a problem for many cities worldwide. As a low-cost policy measure to address this problem, Oyama City (with a population of approximately 167,000) in Japan, conducted a social experiment involving a significant fare reduction (selling passes at Max 70% discount) and a public information campaign (simplified mobility management) for all citizens. This study analysed this policy from two perspectives, namely the change in the attitudes and behaviours of the people, and the maintenance of the financial stability of bus management. The analysis confirmed that the number of pass holders increased by a factor of 2.6, number of pass holders using the bus increased by a factor of 1.16, total number of annual bus users increased by a factor of 1.1, and revenue from bus services was maintained. In addition, public information campaigns increased awareness regarding the passes and the number of citizens who ware attached emotionally to the bus and city. These results suggest that the combination of a significant fare reduction and an appropriate public information campaign may increase bus ridership, without reducing operational revenues.
Tomohide Azami; Kento Nakagawa; Ayako Taniguchi. Effect of Low-Cost Policy Measures to Promote Public Transport Use: A Case Study of Oyama City, Japan. Sustainability 2021, 13, 6160 .
AMA StyleTomohide Azami, Kento Nakagawa, Ayako Taniguchi. Effect of Low-Cost Policy Measures to Promote Public Transport Use: A Case Study of Oyama City, Japan. Sustainability. 2021; 13 (11):6160.
Chicago/Turabian StyleTomohide Azami; Kento Nakagawa; Ayako Taniguchi. 2021. "Effect of Low-Cost Policy Measures to Promote Public Transport Use: A Case Study of Oyama City, Japan." Sustainability 13, no. 11: 6160.