Karuizawa Town starts Japanese-style ride sharing in time for Golden Week – Impress Watch

GO, Karuizawa Town in Nagano Prefecture, and four taxi and tourism-related organizations have launched a “Karuizawa version of Japanese-style ride sharing.” Measures to cope with the increase in tourists to Karuizawa during the tourist season.

Karuizawa Town, Kitasaku District, Nagano Prefecture, Karuizawa Taxi Association, Karuizawa Town Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Karuizawa Tourism Association, Karuizawa Hotel and Inn Association, and GO signed a collaboration agreement in February to resolve transportation issues due to the increase in tourists during the tourist season in Karuizawa Town. As a step toward this goal, the company announced that it would work on a project to strengthen the supply of taxis in Karuizawa.

As part of the project, a private car utilization business (Japanese-style ride-sharing) will be put into operation as “Karuizawa version of Japanese-style ride-sharing” from April 26th. This will be the first Japanese-style ride-sharing operation in the Hokushinetsu region.

The operation is scheduled to proceed gradually, with a total of 25 taxis, including Matsuba taxis (7), Masuya Kotsu (6), Karuizawa Kanko (6), and Daiichi Kotsu (6).

Furthermore, on March 28th, a total of 107 taxis in Karuizawa Town were equipped with the taxi app “GO,” and on April 8th, a dedicated “GO” stop was set up at the north exit of Karuizawa Station. We will continue to carry out projects aimed at resolving traffic issues during the busy summer season, such as dispatching support teams.

The “Karuizawa version of Japanese-style ride sharing” received applications from 248 people in their 20s to 70s, including people who work as independent contractors in Karuizawa Town and people who work part-time in the food and beverage industry. 19 private cars will be used, and 6 will be used by taxi companies’ idle vehicles. Private vehicles will be equipped with DRIVE CHART, a communication-based next-generation AI drive recorder that helps reduce accidents. Drivers trained by taxi companies will begin operating the service during busy periods, with the aim of expanding the fleet to 25 vehicles as soon as possible.

The corresponding area is the entire Karuizawa town. Days and hours are 8:00-13:00 and 16:00-24:00 every day.

In Karuizawa, during busy seasons such as Golden Week, summer, and autumn when the leaves turn red, demand for transportation increases locally, making it often difficult for both tourists and local residents to travel the last mile. The company has already introduced the taxi app GO to improve efficiency, and will expand its measures by launching Japanese-style ride sharing before Golden Week.