JTB Undertakes Pilot Program for Community Bicycles in Tokyo Metropolitan Area

Commissioned by Japan's Ministry of the Environment, JTB Tokyo Metropolitan Corp., one of the group companies of Japan Travel Bureau, conducted a pilot program using community bicycles in the area including Otemachi, Marunouchi and Yurakucho in Tokyo from October 1 through November 30, 2009. The community bicycle is expected to be a next-generation transportation method.

Community bicycles are a new transportation system, requiring only bicycles and public streets. In major cities in Europe, such a system has been introduced widely as a method to complement public transportation, with lower cost. In Japan, bicycle-riding is gaining attention as a healthy transportation mode that also helps to curb motor traffic which is the major source of carbon dioxide emissions in the transportation sector.

This is the first ever pilot program conducted in Japan that uses an automatic rental system with personal identification. Five Eco-port community bicycle lots were set up about 300 meters apart in the trial area and 10 bicycles were stationed at each Eco-port, while 20 return-ports were established in the area. To rent a bicycle, users were required to confirm their personal identification with a non-contact IC card (FeliCa), FeliCa-equipped cell phones or a special IC card issued by JTB. Credit card payment was adopted to run the system, thus protecting bicycles from being stolen. An information communications system was used to manage information about bicycle location and for repositioning them..

Posted: 2010/02/24 06:00:15 AM