Local News

Transport company Seishin Butsuryu, based in Miyawaka, Fukuoka Prefecture, began operation of a free bus service that shuttles between area supermarkets. The objective is to provide transportation for shopping to the elderly living alone and others. The company is operating six buses on the 20-kilometer route, each of which holds 28 passengers. Costs are being offset by the supermarkets and drugstores the buses visit. The Kyushu District Transport Bureau says it is unusual for any private sector company in Japan to be involved in such an enterprise.