Local News

The Kyushu District Transport Bureau released statistics from the 24 companies operating expressway buses on longer routes in Kyushu showing that the number of passengers during the yearend period from December 27 to January 5 fell 11.3% from the year before to about 373,000 people. The bureau attributes the decline to the combination of a poor economy, the flu epidemic, and the number of people traveling by automobile due to the lower expressway tolls. Also, three routes in Oita were temporarily impassable due to snow, and the number of passengers on those routes dropped more than 20%.