One October day 2023, a Kanagawa Forest Instructor found a strange sticker pasted in front of the gate for Yadoriki Water Source Forest やどりき水源林. It says “Ashigara AI On-Demand Bus, Knowroute, 1, Yadoriki Suigenrin (Yadoriki Water Source Forest).” What is it?
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| Mystery sticker |
A senior member of Kanagawa Forest Instructor Association later explained the mystery sticker. He sits for a Committee of Matsuda Town to discuss the welfare improvements of the townsfolk. According to him, Matsuda Town 松田町 introduced Knowroute. The service was started in Hakata 博多 of Kyushu 九州 in 2019, by Next Mobility Co., a joint venture between Nishi-Nippon Railroad Co. and Mitsubishi Co. The scheme uses the app created by Spare Labs of Canada for on-demand transit services. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism of Japan has chosen 20-something municipalities to support pilot program employing Knowroute service. The criteria of ministerial endorsement is, “The place has difficulty providing traditional public transportation system, mainly due to aging and shrinking population.” In Kanagawa Prefecture, there are two designated areas for the national pilot: Matsuda-Ohimachi Towns 松田-大井町 and Kawasaki Ward 川崎区 of Kawasaki City. Then, what’s for that sticker?
It’s a mark for Meeting-Point, a kind of bus stop, of Knowroute. The service is half-half of taxi and commuter bus. We first install an app of Knowroute (; both Apple Store and Google Play Store are available). We register ourselves as a user, with cell phone number (starting from the country code), name, zip code, passport number (i.e. inbound tourists welcome), gender, and birthday. We then make a reservation “On such-a-such day I want to ride Knowroute Bus from Meeting-Point A to Meeting Point B at (say) 9:00.” Depending on the operator of the service, the business hours and the fare differ. For Matsuda-Ohimachi Scheme, the operator is Ashigara On-Demand Institute. They operate the service between 6:30-22:00 every day. Their bus has the capacity to 8 people, and accepts the reservation from 7 days before (; but when the gate is closed for reservation, we wonder). When you ride the bus at the Meeting-Point of Ashigara On-Demand Knowroute, you tell the last 4-digit numbers of your cell phone number, and pay the fare to the driver. If you’re using the service several times a week, you can choose to purchase monthly pass which allows you (and your family depending on the type of the pass) to use the service without paying cash every time. Otherwise, the system allows “visitor” usage for 300 yen (about USD2) a pop. I tell you it’s a terrible bargain. If you use a taxi from JR Matsuda Station to Yadoriki Water Source Forest one way, it’s about 4500 yen (approx. USD30). With Knowroute, 300 yen, WHAAAAAAAT!? Basically, the service is for local grandpas and grandmas who give up their driver’s license. So, the deal is reasonable. We visitors are free riding. Advertisement of the service is uber tricky now … I’m betting my blog is for the people who are not native Japanese speakers. The traditional transportation business in western Kanagawa Prefecture will not notice … crossing my fingers. This week is about my very easy adventure with Knowroute to Yadoriki Water Source Forest.
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| A Knowroute bus in the town center of Matsuda |
First, I registered myself as a visitor-user at their site, and made a reservation like “Please pick me up at 8:45 from JR Matsuda Station. My destination is Yadoriki Water Source Forest.” Oh, I have to tell you the gate at the entrance for Yadoriki Water Source Forest is the remotest Meeting Point for the Matsuda-Ohimachi Servide. It has the proud number “1” as the Meeting Point. After my request, the AI calculated the expected time we could reach the destination. I checked it, and tapped “Reservation” as the schedule was OK. 8:45 pick-up on that day the Knowroute said I could reach the destination at 9:11 by Number 3 bus. It was a reasonable time equal to the case when we drive from JR Matsuda Station to the Forest. Though, I found when I changed the pick-up time for 8:50, the estimated arrival time was around 9:40. It’s because the service would pick up the other passengers for another destinations along the way, and reach to the deep forest as the final destination. I guess if it is early morning, the probability is very high for the service to bring us directly to the Water Source Forest via the quickest possible route. I have to add the Meeting Point of the Water Source Forest is operational for 6:30-17:00 only.
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| From
the north exit of JR Matsuda Station, we can admire Mt. Fuji, if weather permits. |
That morning, I waited for the service to come at the north exit of JR Matsuda Station of Gotemba Line. Between Odakyu Shin-Matsuda Station to the north exit of JR Matsuda Station, I witnessed another Knowroute Bus busy carrying passengers to somewhere. The Meeting Point number at JR Matsuda Station was 146. Wow. In front of the Station, there was #4 Knowroute bus standing-by … The reservation page said mine must have been #3 … that’s not the bus I can take … Then, at 8:45, #3 bus came and stopped at Meeting Point 146. Bingo. When I got on the bus the driver asked my registered name, and the last 4 digit of my cell phone number, which is a reservation number of Knowroute service. After checking I was a person who made a reservation, the driver asked me to drop 300 yen into a transparent plastic box next to him. I guess when we pay the fare with a bill or 500-yen coin, it would be a sort of mess at the beginning. If you plan to use the service, prepare the three 100-yen coins at hand. I was the only passenger for #3 bus. I took a seat, the driver asked me to wear the seatbelt (until I put it on, he did not ignite the engine), and the bus departed the Station.
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| The Meeting Point for JR Matsuda Station is there. |
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| #146 |
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| #4 bus was standing-by. That’s not mine. |
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| My 300 yen |
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| #3 bus is coming. |
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| “Are you Naomi?” |
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| The plastic box for 300 yen |
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| All aboard! |
From the town center of Matsuda to Yadoriki community, there is only one route, via National Route 246 to Prefectural Road 710. After passing Yunosawa housing area 湯の沢団地, Road 710 gains the altitude. When we find the construction site of Shin-Tomei Express Way on our right (; my post on November 10th), to our right there appears a road going to Kayanuma community 萱沼 of Yadoriki. Knowroute is serving for this area as well so if there had been somebody who made a reservation when I went to the Water Source Forest, the bus would have made a detour there. That day, the bus went straight Road 710 as-a-matter-of-factory at the corner, then turned left at Intertek Japan premise. I thought it might enter Mushizawa area 虫沢 of Yadoriki (; my post on, say, August 18), but nope. There was nobody who made a reservation for this timing. My bus turned right without crossing Tashiro Bridge 田代橋. It went a community road running along Nakatsu River 中津川 to Odera Bridge 大寺橋 and continued straight without crossing the Bridge. I was surprised as the route was a short-cut to Water Source Forest we forest instructors normally took. The bus did not take a detour to anywhere, passed Miroku Camping Ground ミロクキャンプ場 and carried me to the Meeting Point #1, Yadoriki Water Source Forest, at 9:11. This was the power of AI!
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| From 246 to 710, turning left. |
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Safely arrived
at the Water Source Forest, on time. |
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| Thank you Knowroute! |
In the afternoon on that day, I returned to Matsuda town center hitched on the car driven by a fellow forest instructor. Along the way, we passed an oncoming Knowroute bus filled with passengers. A few whiles later, the traditional commuter bus service between Shin-Matsuda Station and Yadoriki came. It was empty. That was an ominous sign … I don’t know how the social experiment will go in Yadoriki. One thing for sure: going to Yadoriki Water Source Forest is now uber easy. An inconvenience of this service is, we cannot adjust arrival time. But if it is early morning, or we don’t have to be exact for the time, the shortcoming may not be that much. If you’re interested in the scheme, please try. When the Knowroute bus makes detours, it could be a chance for you to communicate with the locals, or explore local scenery of Matsuda-Ohimachi area of western Kanagawa Prefecture.
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If you find environmental issues in Kanagawa Prefecture, please make a contact with Kanagawa Natural Environment Conservation Center 神奈川県自然環境保全センター
657 Nanasawa, Atsugi City, 243-0121
〒243－0121 厚木市七沢657
Phone: 046-248-0323
You can send an enquiry to them by clicking the bottom line of their homepage at http://www.pref.kanagawa.jp/div/1644/
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