(Residents participation in the Maintenance of Public Transportation)

☑ Ride and Protect the Local Railways ~Local Governments along the Kitakinki Tango Railway Line Upper Limit of JPY200 for Senior Citizens' One-way Train Ticket~

There is even a residents participation example for public transportation, where the public transportation has been able to continue to functioning as the region’s legs, thanks to the residents’ activities. There are many cases where railway lines have had to reduce the number of services, or even close a line altogether, due to the decrease in the number of users; a result of the population decline. However, in Kyoto, City, the residents were determined to keep the ‘legs’ (transportation means) of the region alive by active use. As part of the effort, for a five-month period starting in June 2011, they conducted a social experiment in which ‘the upper limit for a one-way ticket for senior citizens who purchase a ticket at a train station within city limits is JPY200’ on Saturdays, Sundays, and public holidays $ ^{55} $ . Due to this initiative, the number of senior citizens using the railway increased to 2.8 times more than the same period in the previous year. The effect of the initiative was not limited to the increase in senior citizen users. The initiative also had a wide range of effects, including an increase in the number of people connecting to another public transportation link, a reduction in the strain caused by private car transportation, and improvement in the health of senior citizens getting out and about more often. Due to the results listed, the initiative was extended to include weekdays from October 2012, and two other cities and two other towns (Kyotango City, Miyazu City, Ine town, and Yosano town) along the Kitakinki Tango Railway Line are starting the same initiative.

The Kitakinki Tango Railway and local governments along the line are also working towards the goal of making

Source) Kyoto to the City

Artwork inside the Station

Source) Utsu-shi KTR Iwakitaguchi Station (Nickname "The inlet entrance of Aso")

the railway line one that is “Cohesive to the region and is easy to use.” To help realize this objective, students from the high school art club and residents from the community are working together on creating the ‘Station Building Art’ mural to be painted on the station building $ ^{Note\ 56} $ . They have also launched an initiative to ‘Create a Flower Railway,’ which involves making the interior of the train station a ‘Flower Station,’ making the area around the station a ‘Popular Venue for Viewing Flowers,’ and making the areas along side the railway a ‘Flower Tunnel.’ By having residents from the region—from nursery school children to senior citizens—participate in activities like planting flowers, the railway line is developing ways for the residents to feel an affinity for the railway.

The station building is used by the local community women’s association to hold their monthly meetings called ‘Hottosalon (Hot Salon) $ ^{Note\ 57} $ ,’ and is also often part of strolls for nursery school children. Having the railway widens the community circle in the region, and they are continuing to look for ways of promoting utilization through such activities.