PROBLEMS WITH THE LOCAL PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION PLAN IN JAPAN AS AN URBAN TRANSPORTATION PLANNING SYSTEM

Abstract

Urban transportation planning systems are required to contribute to location policies by achieving optimal modal share and to guarantee public transportation service levels. However, transportation plans based on the Act on Revitalization and Rehabilitation of Local Public Transportation Systems, which was extended to cover urban areas after 2014, are mostly aimed at restructuring the service itself to improve its efficiency and business balance, and have little direction to enhance public transport services in urban areas to shift people away from private cars. The regional public transportation planning system does not distinguish between urban transportation problems and local transportation problems, resulting in confusion in planning methodology, and the commitment to improve the efficiency of government subsidies for local buses for business improvement is mixed into the planning system.