As the management of bus companies becomes more difficult due to the influence of the new coronavirus, demonstration experiments have begun in Tokyo and Kanagawa prefectures to explore the demand for "office buses" that allow people to commute while working while avoiding crowded trains.
This "office bus" is operated by the major private railway company "Tokyu" once a day only on weekdays until April 28th.
The route is
▽ In the morning, at 8:20 am, the Tokyu Bus Shinba Sales Office in Kohoku Ward, Yokohama City departs, and the city of the Denen-toshi Line goes through O Station and Tamaplaza Station, and then Shibuya Station and Tokyo Station. Head to.
▽ In the evening, leave Tokyo Station at 4:25 pm and return to the same route.
On the 15th, it took a little longer than traveling by train due to traffic jams due to rain, but the company expects to use people who want to avoid crowded trains and commute to work.
The car is equipped with free Wi-Fi and a USB cable outlet for charging so that you can move while working.
Advance reservations are required to use the bus, and the company will consider future operations based on the results of the demonstration experiment.
A female group employee who used the bus said, "I was able to work comfortably and felt that I had arrived in no time."
Yohei Toyota, who is in charge of MaaS strategy at Tokyu Corporation, says, "I would like to take on the challenge of various businesses by taking the difficult situation as an opportunity with the new coronavirus."
Among transportation companies, "JR East" is conducting a demonstration experiment to make some vehicles of the Tohoku Shinkansen into vehicles dedicated to telework, and while the number of passengers is declining, attempts to capture new demand are spreading. ..