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^_^ hey peeps~! common question on common ground today~!
what's the public transportation like in Japan?
is it clean?
does it come on time?
are the fares expensive?
are there any new amazing projects they have?
do a lot of people use it?
^_^ i only know the basics of it... like what you see in those documentary videos about Japan, but i wanted to know how the people use it! yay~! i know it's a good deal better than it is in the States... >.< getting very pricey...
i think mostly about subways and buses and taxis alot of people over there dont even own a car but thats just what ive seen i think its cleaner than what it is over here in the US its preety on time to me faster trains are there new things. its there main mode of transportation so alot of people use it
This is all from stuff I have learned while having fun reasearching Japan...I am not very good at memorizing so some of it may be incorrect...but I will try my best to answer your questions.
is it clean?
As far as I know...it is fairly clean...I've never really heard anything about Japan buses and trains being less or more dirty than America's
does it come on time?
There have been many cases in which the trains run late...one major cause is Suicides...suicide rates in Japan are at their hightest right now...but they've made a new law that if a person jumps in front of a train their family has to pay I think it was 70,000 yen to the train station to make up for late departures and arrivals.
are the fares expensive?
They can be I guess..but if you are visiting over there they have these bus pass things for you...I can't remember much about them...they are called something like tourist passes. I read all about it in a little booklet I got about Japan from the National Japan Tourist Organization.
are there any new amazing projects they have?
Yes actually...I forget what year they are to be introduced fully but they are what they call Maglev trains. They are faster than bullet trains. The reason why is the train practically floats because of the magnetic force on the train tracks. One has already been introduced in Kyoto I think.
do a lot of people use it?
Yes! Tons and Tons of people use it. Many of those people are highschool students because alot of them have to travel sometimes hours to get to their school. Much of the time you will be so packed together you might as well just hug on opinion lol. Yes, though an immense amount of people use public transportation for another reason as well. Imagine you have five minutes to get to work...those roads are packed full...bye bye promotion.
Don't you have to be 20yrs old in order to drive anyway? on top of that, I head that it was an expensive process getting a licence.
It'd kinda vary depending on the area you're in and what you're using.
I'd assume in the big cities such as Tokyo, etc. that the buses, trains, and other forms of public transportation is a little dirty. To add to it I'd assume it'd be pricey too. But it'd depend on where you're headed too. If you're heading further out the fares for the trains, buses, taxis cost more. (ofcourse)
As for on arriving on time...ummmm, I guess again that it'd really up to how bad the traffic is and in some cases the weather (especially for the trains)
As for smaller or the middle-of-nowhere towns. (like where I used to live ^^; ) You can rely on it on most occasions. Always clean, on time, and cheap....well from the VERY few times that I'd been on buses and trains.
...but again, this is all really my assumptions and guesses from my personal experience...from nearly 7yrs ago. -_-;
*scratches head*
It's been ages since I last visited Japan (3 years ago? -__-) so there may have been improvements made, that I don't know about. On the whole public transport in Japan is pretty efficient. That is to say, the buses and trains come on time, and get you to your destination without delay (for the most part).
Prices aren't too bad, depending on what you're used to. If you come from a big city in, say, UK (which can only be London) or the States, chances are you won't find fares in Japan too bad (plus the roads are a lot less congested than those in London/NY, so you don't get charged extra if you take a cab!). A Shinkansen ticket can cost anywhere from 2,000 yen to 10,000? Depending on how far you're traveling. In Nagoya I paid 200 yen for a bus ticket that lasted a whole day (a bit pricey compared to Malaysian prices, but cheap compared to, say, London prices).
Cleanliness is pretty good compared to most places. It's just the crowds that might put you off. I've never been in a train in Japan during peak hours, but if you've seen pictures you'd know how unbelievably crowded it can get inside one of those trains..... +__+