Japan to Promote Low-Speed Electric Buses

August 23, 2018

Tokyo- Japan's Environment Ministry plans to make a budget request of some 2 billion yen for fiscal 2019 to promote low-speed electric buses, informed sources said Wednesday.

The government will subsidize the purchase cost of the buses, hoping they will serve as a means of transportation for tourists and residents in areas where the population is aging, the sources said.

The buses are designed to run on public roads at under 20 kilometers per hour and carry at least four passengers. They include a microbus-type vehicle that can carry more than a dozen people.

The buses can turn in a small radius and run on narrow roads, allowing aged people to drive easily.

Operations of low-speed electric buses, which can recharge from household electricity, are expected also in areas where gas stations have closed.

The environment and transport ministries want to promote the eco-friendly vehicles as an alternative to such public transport as railroads and standard buses, whose operations are shrinking in underpopulated areas suffering driver shortages and aging populations.

Japan expects about 100 low-speed electric buses to be introduced in fiscal 2019, which starts next April, under the Environment Ministry's new subsidiary program.

The financial aid program to cover two-thirds of the purchasing cost of a low-speed electric bus will be available to operators seeking to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, including conversions from gasoline automobiles.

For the low-speed electric bus, information and communications technology is expected to be used to show the operation status online and display passenger destinations on their commuter passes.

The ministries will partially cover the cost of introducing such advanced technology and solicit new ideas from the public, the sources said. Jiji Press