Follow us on Telegram for the latest updates: https://t.me/mothershipsg

Kyoto will no longer be selling one-day bus passes which give unlimited rides around the city by September this year, the Kyoto Municipal Transporation Bureau announced on March 31, 2023.

The decision to end the sales of the popular travel pass comes as local residents find themselves competing with tourists for space on public transport.

Often crowded with tourists

The one-day bus passes can be purchased at 700 yen (S$7) for adults and 350 yen (S$3.50) and allow travellers unlimited rides on city buses on the day of use.

Kyoto will stop selling the one-day bus pass in September. Any purchased passes will only be valid until the end of March 2024.

The standard bus fare in the city centre is 230 yen per ride.

City buses are popular means of transport among tourists, as many of Kyoto's major attractions are more accessible by buses than by subways, reported Sora News 24.

This is especially so for shrines and temples located outside of the city centre. As a result, city buses are often crowded with tourists.

Many locals complained about long lines at the bus stop before Covid-19. They also couldn't get on the bus as they were full, ZakZak reported.

"In the morning, the line is coiled up, and sometimes we ask you to board the bus three times later," an official told news outlet Mainichi Shimbun.

According to the city government, the bus stop is right outside the central exit, so it is difficult for tourists to consider other means of transportation such as the subway.

Some tourists would also use the bus despite being able to reach their destination faster by subway, prompting locals to criticise the acts as "tourism pollution".

Kyoto determined that the sales of one-day bus passes are one of the reasons for the congestion and decided to stop selling them at the end of September this year and limit their use to the end of March next year.

Preparing for tourists' return

In the midst of the pandemic, the sales of one-day bus tickets dipped to 1.1 million in 2021 in comparison to 3.29 million in 2019.

But just last year, as borders started to open, Japan saw spending by foreign tourists increases by sevenfold, Kyodo News reported.

As Japan prepared for the return of tourists, Kyoto aims to ease congestion by directing them to use the subway instead.

ZakZak reported that city buses started to stop in front of the central exit of JR Kyoto Station at the beginning of March this year.

Tourists can still purchase the one-day bus and subway pass at 1,100 yen (S$11) to travel around Kyoto.

A city official said the plan is for buses and subways to offer fast and comfortable routes in multiple languages.

"We will not return to the state before Covid," he said.

Top image via Shijo Karasuma/Google Street View.