Now, roads belong to cars. Of the annual number of 6,000 pedestrians and bicycle riders killed by cars, people aged 65 or older accounted for half of the total. That age group suffered the highest number of fatalities, illustrating the danger older people always face on the roads. A drastic increase in private car ownership, from 6.55 million in 1970, to 32.4 million in 1990 and 41.5 million in 1998, has created a vicious circle. It has resulted in a decline in public transportation, and buses in particular.
Buses are more environmentally friendly than private cars because they are fewer in number.
They are also safer because bus drivers are experienced professionals. However, nowadays, few people take buses because many people own cars. The number of bus services has decreased, and is sometimes as infrequent as once every two or three hours. In the city where I live, daily life is inconvenient for the elderly. In the area, large suburban stores with huge parking lots have opened one after the other in the past few years and local small and medium-sized shops have collapsed.