Community Bus Service for Outlying Areas Struggling
The Kyushu District Transport Bureau released the results of a questionnaire survey regarding the business conditions for community bus services operated by local governments to serve outlying communities with dwindling populations. The average percentage of operating income to operating expenditures was stalled at 27%, indicating the severity of conditions. The bureau received answers from 227 municipalities in Kyushu’s seven prefectures, of which 62.1% were either operating such services themselves, or outsourcing them to a private sector company.