SRT is the “connecting bus of the near future.” On February 13, SRT (Smart Roadway Transit), a bus line with near-future-inspired devices everywhere, was fully launched. At present, the SRT is a bit lonely, with only about one service per hour and only on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, Mondays, and holidays, but the company plans to purchase additional vehicles, expand the area, and increase the number of services. The vehicle used by SRT is a “Daimler Citaro G,” which is often seen in the Tokyo metropolitan area (e.g., on Keisei buses in Makuhari, Chiba), and is not particularly new. However, instead of a small number of seats, the bus has cross seats for four passengers, and with the introduction of the MOOX-RIDE augmented reality (XR) technology, tourist information and other information can be projected from the bus window while viewing the Nagoya cityscape at the same time. The introduction of XR technology, the first time it has been put to practical use on a route bus in Japan, is sure to draw a lot of attention. However, some may wonder, as they ride the SRT on Nagoya’s wide streets, “Why not LRT? “Why not LRT?” Nagoya has the largest population of 2.3 million in the Tokai region, and with the opening of the Linear Central Shinkansen Line, Nagoya will be within an hour’s drive of Tokyo, and many people will visit Nagoya to interact with the Tokyo metropolitan area. Although the SRT is parallel to the Higashiyama Subway Line, which is located in close proximity to Hirokoji-dori (Nishiki-dori) where the SRT will run, and the city bus line (route C-758), there should still be demand for travel. In fact, there was originally a time when “LRT installation” was clearly stated in the SRT concept stage. However, as changes gradually occurred, talk of “developing our own buses” disappeared, and the SRT was to be opened using ordinary articulated vehicles. In a word, the plan was grandiose, but what came to fruition was an ordinary articulated bus route. It has been more than ten years since the plan was conceived. Why did this plan have to be scaled down and compromised at every turn? Now that the SRT is finally open for business, let us recall the history of the changes that led up to its birth.
The dream of a new vehicle fleet, a “transit mall,” and a “hydrogen bus” did not materialize, and the Corona disaster struck without any progress in the “development of bus stops” and the “transformation of Hirokoji-dori into a transit mall,” and SRT finally opened for business today after going through some difficult times. However, there are no “dedicated lanes” as originally envisioned, nor are there dedicated running spaces like those already provided by the Nagoya City Transportation Bureau for “core buses. Furthermore, the “positive landing control technology” necessary to allow wheelchairs and baby strollers to ride without assistance was not introduced, and the route to Nagoya Castle and Osu, which ran during the social experiment phase, did not open. …… Compared to when the LRT and dedicated vehicles were envisioned, the plan has shrunk considerably. The plan has shrunk considerably compared to the time when LRT and dedicated railcars were conceived.
© Source travel watch