Abstract
The number of public transportation users in the provinces is on a long-term downtrend. This trend has made it difficult to maintain public transportation, prompting local government to provide support in the form of subsidies. But public transportation operators have found it increasingly difficult to secure such funding as cash-strapped local governments tighten their belts. Up until now, the value and necessity of public transportation has mainly been examined by only the transportation field, resulting in the importance of revenue in evaluation and there have been cases of understating the value and necessity of public transportation.
This research aims to pay attention to the cost savings of the whole society, including nontransportation sectors, and to describe the value and necessity of public transportation from a perspective of cross-sector benefits. It looked into the role and influence of public transportation on 12 sectors linked to transportation, and calculated its value. Based on the results of this analysis, this research found that the role public transportation plays in regional society is bigger.
