Abstract
This study argues that shared taxi is a suitable public transportation solution for low demand rural areas in Japan. To investigate this issue we used questionnaire survey method and collected user preference on shared taxi -Himesayuri-. Further, we obtained information related to users' level of acceptance for ride shared-taxies. In the preliminary analysis, the study found that 80% of users are willing to travel by shared-taxies, however, some of the users reluctant to use shared-taxies with the different gender groups. Further, users highlighted that matching same genders resulted in a delay in overall journey. To investigate more on this issue, we performed Hayashi's quantification method II. Accordingly, the study found that most of users who do not satisfy with their current fare except users who use shared-taxies to visit a hospital. Further, results of the conjoint analysis indicated that male users predominantly concern is delay whereas female users primary concern is about gender difference when selecting shared taxi.
