Local News

A liaison council of 13 public and private entities was launched on Feb. 13 with the aim of improving the convenience of Fukuoka Airport’s international terminal. It plans to double the number of shuttle buses connecting the international terminal to downtown Fukuoka. Last year, the number of international terminal users topped 3 million, the highest on record, and new routes are expected to be added in the future. For this reason, the public-private liaison council was established to strengthen the terminal’s function as the “Gateway to Kyushu”. Council members include the Kyushu District Transport Bureau, the Bureau’s Fukuoka Airport Office, Fukuoka Prefecture, Fukuoka City, Fukuoka Airport Building Co., Fukuoka City Taxi Association, Fukuoka Prefecture Rent-a-Car Association. At present, shuttle buses run between the international terminal and Hakata Station once or twice an hour, but the Council proposed doubling this number by next month, adding a Tenjin route and adding more stops near hotels with high numbers of foreign lodgers. Fukuoka Airport Building Co. and the Taxi Association have agreed to install a dedicated taxi stop for premium taxis—taxis operated by drivers who have received tour guide training—in March. The Fukuoka Prefecture Rent-a-Car Association proposed adding a rent-a-car service desk for foreigners. In the future, the Council also plans to discuss expanding bus routes to points across Kyushu and making the terminal atmosphere more welcoming to foreign visitors. Source: Nishinippon Shimbun, Feb. 14