The last train of the metropolitan area was advanced by up to 30 minutes due to the declaration of emergency of the new coronavirus.

Twenty-five railway operators in the Tokyo metropolitan area, such as JR East, Tokyo Metro, and major private railway companies, advanced the last train by up to 30 minutes in response to requests from the national government and Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama, and Chiba prefectures. ..



In JR East, 11 lines such as the Yamanote Line and Chuo Line are targeted, and the departure time of the last train of the Yamanote Line at Ikebukuro Station is 0:26, which is 14 minutes earlier on the outer loop, and 0:23, which is 28 minutes earlier on the inner loop. It was.



Passengers near the last train were sparse, and those who got off the train were quickly heading to the ticket gates for transfers.



A man in his 40s who missed the last train, although he tried to go to Shinagawa station after finishing work, said, "I knew the last train was advanced, but it was no good. I will manage to return by taxi."



The last trains on the Seibu Ikebukuro Line and Tobu Tojo Line, which are terminals in Ikebukuro, were also early, and few people walked around Ikebukuro Station.



A man in his 60s, a taxi driver, said, "In the past, there were people after the last train, but these days there are few people. I can't work as if I'm patrolling Tokyo." I did.

Hotel midnight check-in new plan

A major hotel in Tokyo has started a new plan that allows you to check in even at midnight in anticipation of demand from people who missed the last train.



This plan was started by the major hotel chain "Prince Hotels" on the 15th of this month at eight hotels in Tokyo.



You can check in 24 hours a day and stay for up to 10 hours, and the rates are generally cheaper than regular stays.



At the hotel, we anticipate the demand of people who missed the last train and had difficulty returning home or who use it for teleworking, so we prepared replacement masks and disinfectant sheets in the guest rooms to take measures against infection.



Kayo Hayashi, general manager of Prince Hotels, said, "Behavior is diversifying due to the advance of the last train and telework. We want to provide plans that meet new needs with safety and security as our top priority."

Consider increasing share cycle company bases and bicycles

Share cycle companies, which are often used by commuter passengers, are actively considering expanding their business, expecting that more people will choose to commute by bicycle due to the advancement of the last train in the Tokyo metropolitan area.



Open Street, a share cycle company that allows you to use a bicycle for 24 hours using a smartphone app, has about 2,500 bases in the Tokyo metropolitan area, and was previously used for short distances such as between stations and workplaces. It was the center.



However, after the spread of the new coronavirus, the number of medium- and long-distance users, such as between home and work, increased, and the number of users during commuting hours was about 1.5 times that before the spread.



The company is considering increasing the number of bases and bicycles, expecting that more people will choose to commute by bicycle, which is not tied to the operating hours of the railway, due to the advancement of the last train.



Tomoaki Kudo, CFO of Open Street, said, "We would like to actively deploy bicycles for medical professionals who need to move even in the state of emergency."