Institute of Transportation, MOTC

     The rural population has reduced due to the aging and declining birthrates, which has made the local public transport carriers unwilling to enter or continue to operate, which has further led to the weakening of rural public transportation system and the difficulties for basic people traveling protection. However, the characteristics of the public transportation demand brought by the aging and declining birthrates are different from the public transportation system in the metropolitan area, and it is urgently required to provide transportation services that closer to the needs of the local people. The voluntary maintenance of transportation system in some areas through the private sector has also led to the consideration to re-examine the public transportation system, hoping to propose other feasible strategies for public transportation in the rural areas in order to maintain the basic people traveling. 
    This Study summarizes the existing systems and related case data of public transportation in the rural areas in Japan and the United States, and makes a preliminary comparison with the current systems in our Country. The examination of relevant cases shows that in order to make full use of existing transportation resources, both Japan and the United States have adopted the practices of reorganizing resources with existing transportation carriers, while Japan has further cooperated with local non-governmental organizations to promote transportation in the rural areas where resources are extremely scarce. The research and analysis of relevant systems and cases can be used as the reference to improve public transportation planning in rural areas in our Country.