Public Transport and Cycling Priority Ordinance

**Public Transport and Cycling Priority Ordinance 1948** (Japanese: 1948年の公共交通機関と自転車優先条例 *1948-nen no* *kōkyō kōtsūkikan to jitensha yūsen jōrei*; Mandarin: 1948年公共交通和自行车优先条例 *1948-nián gōnggòng jiāotōng hé zìxíngchē yōuxiān tiáolì*; Dutch: *Voorrangsverordening openbaar vervoer en fietsen 1948*) is an ordinance that came into effect in 1953 and repealed in 1985.

The law mandated full service at service stations, banned households from owning more than one car, and promoted bike lanes throughout the city as well as low cost fares for riding on buses, trams and passenger trains.

Kawagoeland's successful model of discouraging the use of private vehicles and promoting sustainable transport is compared to that of Hong Kong and Singapore but contrasts with that of the U.S. and Canada. During the 1973 oil crisis, this law became more pronounced, dropping the car usage rate to 38%.

## Background

Cycling steadily became more important in Europe over the first half of the 20th century, but it dropped off in America between 1900 and 1910. Automobiles became the dominant means of transportation. Over the 1920s, bicycles gradually became considered children's toys, and by 1940 most bicycles in the US were made for children. From the early 20th century until after WWII, the roadster constituted most adult bicycles sold in the UK and in many parts of the British Empire. For many years after the advent of the motorcycle and automobile, they remained a primary means of adult transport.

## Passage

The then-strong car culture in Kawagoeland angered public transport companies (including bus, tram and train companies) as well as cycling advocates, who feared that automobile dependency closes down many public transport systems like trams and trolleybuses, threaten the continious construction of bike lanes, threaten railway lines with a hard closure and creates air pollution. Public transport companies and cycling advocates wanted cities in Kawagoeland to follow the model of Amsterdam in the Netherlands (cycling as a priority) or Hong Kong in China (high use of public transport) instead of Los Angeles in America (city dominated by automobiles).

The then-proposed law was supported by Hakone Bus Office Company, Himeji Bus Office Company and various cycling advocates and public transport companies.

The law states these provisions:

* The law prohibited self-service fuelling, which required each station to only offer either full service or mini service.
* The law prohibited households from owning more than one car. If he or she must buy a new car, she must exchange the old one for a new one. However, cyclists may choose to purchase more than one bicycle.
* The law prohibited fuel prices under 200 cents, and prohibited public transport fares with a price more than $4.50.
* The law prohibited airlines from directly competing with railways.

## Effects

With the passage of the Public Transport and Cycling Priority Ordinance:

* It saved around 100,000 fuel attendant jobs across the country
* It contributed to the implementation of a ban on non-resident cars across city centres
* It lead into the reduction of PM10 and NOx particles emitted by vehicles by 24%
* It contributed to an increase of people taking public transport by 50%
* It contributed to the construction of more bike lanes as well as the increasing number of cyclists by 45%
* It contributed to an increase in passenger rail ridership by 44%
* More towns in Kawagoeland will be built according to the principles of transit-oriented development

As of 2019, car ownership rate in Kawagoeland remains low, with only 44% reported to be owning a car, compared to other developed economies.

## Similar laws

### Rubyland

To combat smog across the country and put more emphasis on public transport (as Rubyland is a small country), self-service fuelling and owning more than one car per private household were both banned in 1956 and both of them remain banned today. The capital city of Rubyland, Hornsbyville, banned its cars from entering in its city centre in the 1990s, unless they are emergency vehicles.