[Special Feature: Mobility in a Depopulating Society] "Machinaka Autonomous Mobility Service" Supporting New Towns / Sonoko Yasuhira

In Japan, a shift in industrial structure occurred during the high-growth period after World War II. To address the concentration of population in metropolitan areas and the shortage of housing supply, many new towns were developed in the suburbs of urban areas and surrounding municipalities. Suburban new towns developed in the 1970s saw an influx of office workers in their 20s and 30s and their families, who moved there seeking a better environment.

After 2010, the generation that was in their prime when they first moved in passed their 60s and reached retirement age. Their children have become independent and moved out, leading to an increase in two-person elderly households and single-person households due to bereavement. Today's suburban new towns are facing many emerging problems aligned with the aging of residents and changes in lifestyle, such as aging housing, delays in barrier-free accessibility, the decline of neighborhood centers, and the idling of elementary and junior high schools.

In particular, in new towns located in hilly areas with many slopes and stairs, shopping or going to the hospital on foot or by bicycle is difficult. Therefore, people continue to own and drive private cars daily even as they age. Why don't they use public transportation such as buses? Buses are a means of transport connecting the inside and outside of the new town. On the narrow roads of residential areas, it is difficult for buses to travel and stop, so bus stops are located along the main roads of the new town. Because they are primarily used for commuting to work or school, the number of daytime services is limited. Consequently, they are not suitable for movement within the new town.

To prevent traffic accidents involving elderly people, there are calls to encourage the voluntary surrender of driver's licenses. However, it is very difficult to maintain daily life without a private car. Therefore, along with promoting voluntary surrender, neighborhood mobility services that can replace private cars are required.

The Japan Research Institute, Limited, to which the author belongs, is considering services to support movement within and around residential areas (hereinafter referred to as "Machinaka Autonomous Mobility Service"). The Machinaka Autonomous Mobility Service is an initiative to enhance ease of movement within a region by providing diverse means of transport through "neighborhood mobility services" and "cooperation with public transportation" within residential areas. By making it easier to travel to destinations, the service aims to allow elderly people to continue living there with peace of mind, while also promoting interaction among residents and revitalizing local shops.

"Neighborhood mobility services" refer to demand-responsive transport using small, low-speed autonomous vehicles. While autonomous driving is envisioned to eventually reach Level 4, where no driver is required, in the initial stages, it is planned to be Level 2 driving assistance with a driver present or Level 3 conditional autonomous driving, considering legal systems, technology, operations, and social acceptance. Since driving on narrow residential roads and maintaining constant attention to safety and passenger transport is a heavy burden for drivers, autonomous driving is expected to play a role in reducing that burden.

"Demand-responsive transport" is a service that provides shared transportation in a set area according to user demand (calls or reservations) (such as "Area-based General Passenger Stage Wagon Transport Business" or "Private Paid Passenger Transport" under the Road Transport Act). Demand-responsive transport allows for the design of highly flexible operation formats (routes, schedules, and stops) tailored to regional characteristics. Previously, it was introduced in areas where train or bus businesses and routes had withdrawn or shrunk (transportation gap areas or inconvenient areas). In recent years, it has been increasingly introduced in suburban residential areas and urban centers to complement existing public transportation. The "Machinaka Autonomous Mobility Service" utilizes an on-demand transport system that performs real-time shared matching of multiple demands using AI.

"Cooperation with public transportation" is a system that allows users to view information and use buses, taxis, and neighborhood mobility services (demand-responsive transport using low-speed autonomous vehicles) using a membership-based portal site for the new town (hereinafter referred to as the "Machinaka Portal"). It is envisioned that after returning to the suburban new town from the city center by bus, users will transfer to a reserved neighborhood mobility service to head toward the vicinity of their homes.

In a two-month demonstration experiment of the "Machinaka Autonomous Mobility Service" conducted in FY2019 (773 registered members excluding stakeholders, etc.), elderly people aged 60 and over with mobility issues were envisioned as the primary customers. While there was high usage among the elderly, there was actually a certain amount of usage by child-rearing households and children as well. The service was used repeatedly for lessons at the community center, and many instances of multi-person use were seen, such as parents and children or children together.

Suburban new towns are aging, but following economic turning points such as the collapse of the bubble economy and the Lehman Shock, the prices of vacant houses and land in suburban new towns slightly removed from urban centers became affordable for the younger generation, leading to a gradual influx of new residents.

In interviews conducted after the demonstration, we received the following feedback from child-rearing households:

• Since children usually have few opportunities to interact with the elderly, seeing elderly people get on and off slowly seemed to make the children feel something, and it was a good opportunity.

• Even with people I don't usually meet, I was able to talk for a short time in a once-in-a-lifetime encounter, and mothers were able to exchange information.

• There is plenty of space inside the vehicle, so it was good to be able to place luggage such as strollers and diaper bags.

• Children could use it alone from near home to their lesson classrooms, eliminating the need for parents to pick them up and drop them off.

• Although we share the ride with strangers, because it is membership-based, the management knows their identities, which provides peace of mind.

How do child-rearing households and children usually move around the neighborhood? Looking at the age-specific data from the "2015 National Urban Transport Characteristics Survey (Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism)," it was found that for women in their 30s, the purpose of personal travel (weekdays) for "pick-up/drop-off" is more frequent than for "shopping" or "dining, etc." (eight times that of men). The means of pick-up/drop-off are mostly private cars (33%) and bicycles (30%), while bus usage remains at 1%. Even for children's means of transport, the use of public transportation was limited. Assuming the targets of pick-up/drop-off are children based on age, it is thought that there are some mobility issues or needs in the movement of child-rearing households and children, including picking up and dropping off children, that are difficult to satisfy with public transportation.

Non-public transportation (private cars, bicycles, walking) also has issues. Pregnant women feel anxious about driving with a large belly. For pick-ups and drop-offs at nurseries, kindergartens, Juku, or lessons, stopping and parking around the facilities can obstruct surrounding traffic. Using a bicycle with a child seat carries the risk of falling accidents. Going out on foot while using a stroller or baby carrier, or holding hands with a small child, requires great care for safety. In bad weather such as rainy days, the burden of moving by bicycle or on foot is even greater.

For sustainable regional formation, the participation of the younger generation moving into the area and children who will be responsible for future town planning is important. Neighborhood mobility services that are friendly to child-rearing households and children are also highly convenient for the elderly, and can be expected to improve the willingness of all residents to go out for shopping or dining, leading to improved regional circulation and revitalization of the local economy. We believe that neighborhood mobility services used by the elderly, as well as child-rearing households and children, will become an important element of future town planning.

However, neighborhood mobility services limited to residential areas have limited fare income due to short travel distances, resulting in poor business viability. The difficulty of implementation is often pointed out regardless of the existence of needs. Labor costs account for most of the operating expenses. Until autonomous driving technology advances and drivers are no longer needed, we would like professional drivers (holders of Class 2 licenses) to drive, but securing sufficient labor costs is necessary. There are ideas such as having local residents obtain Class 2 licenses and drive in a spirit of volunteerism, or providing shared transport with a standard license such as private paid passenger transport, but even then, it would be difficult to cover all operating expenses with fare income.

What the "Machinaka Autonomous Mobility Service" is challenging is the creation of a mobility service ecosystem through a combination of regional self-help and mutual aid in cooperation with neighborhood associations and private services. We aim to build a mechanism where the funds necessary for operation continue to circulate by cooperating with local shops (hereinafter referred to as "Local MaaS"). We believe that building Local MaaS, which includes not only neighborhood mobility services but also cooperation with public transportation and non-transportation services, will lead to the business sustainability of neighborhood mobility services.

Due to the spread of COVID-19, we lived while avoiding the "Three Cs." Even after the pandemic ends, new values will be reflected in our lives as the "New Normal." Consequently, the value of suburban new towns, which have many challenges, will be re-evaluated. Suburban new towns have large residential plots and greenery such as parks. They offer a quiet environment with little traffic. Suburban new towns are welcoming to the younger generation moving in. Even if new detached houses are difficult, well-maintained pre-owned houses are attractive to the younger generation. Sometimes, lunch or takeout from a local shop is nice. How about turning a room in a vacant house or a community center into a shared office? Of course, if there is a neighborhood mobility service circulating within the area, the New Normal life in suburban new towns will become even more comfortable.