Japan: public bus passenger volume 2024| ��ƽ��

Number of passengers carried via commercial-use buses in Japan from fiscal year 2015 to 2024 (in billions)

Characteristic	Number of passengers in billions
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Release date

September 2025

More information

Region

Japan

Survey time period

fiscal years 2015 to 2024; the Japanese fiscal years start on April 1 of the stated year and end on March 31 of the following year

Special properties

commercial-use vehicles with a capacity of over ten passengers

Supplementary notes

Figures have been rounded.

Citation formats

In the fiscal year 2024, the number of passengers carried via public buses in Japan amounted to around **** billion, increasing from roughly **** billion in the previous year. Buses are an alternative land transportation system in Japan, supplementing rapid transit in the cities and Shinkansen bullet trains for long-distance travel.

The weight of demographic change dragging down profitability

With operating revenue and passenger numbers decreasing in rural areas, bus associations in Japan keep pointing out the dire business conditions they face. In the countryside, the industry struggles with the impact of Japan’s demographic change: a low birthrate and a rapidly aging population. Since the few young people in rural areas tend to move into the cities, while the older and less mobile generations stay, the effects of this demographic change become even more accentuated. Areas depopulate, demand shrinks, bus lines become unprofitable, and businesses need to adapt their services. Bus businesses have been writing red numbers within the last decade. Only in major cities have a few of them been profitable in some years.

Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS): A chance for regional revitalization?

The basic idea of MaaS is a mobility concept where various means of public transportation pool their data so users can access these services optimal to their personal needs, ideally booking and paying via a single smartphone application. Worldwide, the MaaS and the shared mobility market are expected to increase rapidly. In Japan, the government-backed initiative called ‘SmartMobility Challenge’ regards MaaS mainly as a way to tackle the problems posed by demographic change. Yearly, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism (MLIT) and the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI) select regions for subsidized pilot experiments tailored to local needs. The outcomes will also signify how successfully Japan implements key technologies, such as autonomous driving, the Internet of Things, or artificial intelligence.