A new bus transit system linking central Tokyo and its waterfront area began operations on Thursday.
The Tokyo Bus Rapid Transit, or Tokyo BRT is hoped to become a new means of transportation for Tokyoites that can meet the traffic needs which are expected to grow once the Athletes Village for the Tokyo Games are converted to condominiums following the event. However, an obstacle stands in the way of the system bringing its high speed -- its greatest advantage -- to fruition.
Passengers including suit-clad commuters boarded an articulated bus, consisting of two sections, at the BRT terminal in the Harumi waterfront district in Chuo Ward, Tokyo, on Thursday morning.
"Until now, I didn't have many transportation options, so this will be very convenient," said a 29-year-old commuter.
Tokyo BRT is scheduled to run the about 5 kilometers between the Harumi district with the Toranomon area in central Tokyo, by way of Shinbashi and other areas, in 20 to 30 minutes. Plans to expand the route into the Toyosu district are also underway, with the buses slated to run a total of four routes from fiscal 2022 onward, following the Tokyo Games.
Improving the convenience of transportation in the waterfront district has been a set aside as a task for years. While the district is filled with high-rise condominiums and is experiencing a sharp increase in population, public transit systems, such as railways, have remained fragile. Although about 5,600 households are expected to move into the converted condominiums, the nearest railway station would be a 20-minute walk away.
Although BRT systems introduced elsewhere, either at home or abroad, have been able to secure rapid transit service by employing options such as running on their exclusive-use highway lanes, the ones in Tokyo run along ordinary roads. The average speed of the Tokyo BRT buses is initially expected to be between 11 to 15 kph on average, almost the same as those that run on normal routes.
The Tokyo metropolitan government plans to raise the running speed of its BRT buses by narrowing down the number of bus stops, as it coordinates with entities including the Metropolitan Police Department to introduce a system that extends the amount of time a traffic light is green as the buses approach them.
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