System to notify bus congestion status on smartphones National government subsidizes introduction costs September 22, 11:21
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism has decided to subsidize the cost of bus companies introducing a system that provides real-time congestion status through smartphones and other devices in order to alleviate bus congestion and prevent the spread of the new coronavirus infection.
Some transportation companies, such as JR East, have introduced a system that uses sensors and cameras to grasp the congestion status inside the train and provides it in real time through smartphones and other devices.
To popularize such a system, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism first decided to subsidize up to half the cost of introduction for bus companies, which have many small businesses.
In line with this, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism has put together a guideline that includes precautions when introducing the system.
The guideline requires that the expressions indicating the congestion status be unified by industry groups, and that the retention period of camera video data be as short as possible in order to protect personal information.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism plans to start recruiting bus companies to apply for subsidies as early as next month, and is considering adding railway companies in the future.