The Tokyo metropolitan government on Thursday conducted a test-run of its new bus rapid-transit system called the Tokyo BRT, which will connect central Tokyo and the waterfront area. The BRT was originally scheduled to start services in May, but the launch was postponed due to the coronavirus crisis. Commercial operations will begin on the morning of Oct. 1.
The Tokyo BRT will operate on an about 5-kilometer route between the Toranomon Hills complex in Minato Ward, Tokyo, to a terminal in the Harumi district in Chuo Ward, Tokyo, via Tokyo's Shimbashi and Kachidoki districts, taking 20 to 30 minutes to complete the route. There will be four to six services per hour, using a 113-seat articulated bus consisting of two sections and a 77-seat hydrogen bus. The fare is 220 yen for adults and 110 yen for elementary school age students and younger.
The Toranomon-Harumi route is just the first part of the system to come online. After next summer's Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, new routes will open to Tokyo Teleport district in the waterfront area and to the Toyosu wholesale market in Koto Ward, Tokyo. After fiscal 2022, another route will open to connect the new residential quarters to be built on the Olympic Village site in the Harumi district. Eventually, the Tokyo BRT will operate on a total of four routes.
Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike joined the test-run and was transported by the articulated bus from the Harumi district to the Toranomon Hills complex.
"The number of residents is increasing in the waterfront area, and I believe the Tokyo BRT will be an important public transportation system connecting central Tokyo and the area," Koike said, expressing her expectations.
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