Changes in the public transportation network in Nagano City in the 1990s

Abstract

This study focuses on grasping the spatial changes that have taken place in a provincial city and aims to clarify the decision making processes of administrators and public transportation companies in Nagano City from a spatial point of view. Geographic studies of public transportation can be divided into two categories: those that put the emphasis on the spatial analysis of the network, and those that are descriptive accounts of the development of transportation in a community. This study attempts to clarify the spatiotemporal nodal structure, taking into account both the spatial profile and transitions over time. Metrical analysis and historical description, two previously separate methodologies, were combined to achieve this objective. Specifically, we first performed an analysis of the spatial structure of the public transportation network as it has gone through yearly changes. Then we examined how the decision making of the administrative and contracting arms has progressed in response to these changes. Finally, we looked into the influence such decisions have had on changes in public transportation. Factor analysis, based on the number of bus and railway runs flow, was used to clarify the changes in nodal structures. These results were then used to compare the convenience of public transportation in various districts in the city with consideration of the population distribution. As a result, with the exception of the central area of Nagano City where buses and railways are concentrated, the nodal structure on the whole experienced a simplification in the decade from 1990 to 2000 due to the decrease in inter-district connections. The disparity in the convenience of public transportation between the central and surrounding districts has also grown due to the deteriorating connections in surrounding districts. However, this gap was also likely subject to the influence of the Nagano Olympics and the extension of the Nagano Shinkansen in the central part of the city. Although the administration has been trying to reduce the number of areas with poor public transit access to minimize the disparity, which has increased due to the change in network spatial patterns, to date it has continued to give priority to ensuring access for citizens traveling in the central urban areas. Currently, given the fact that the number of passengers is not expected to increase, railway companies are focusing on increasing the carrying capacity and linking the rail transportation with other types of transportation in some of the busier zones. Also, bus companies are reducing and eliminating/merging some routes, while trying to maintain the existing service lines, which are still in high demand. The administration is encouraging policies to reduce poor-access areas, whereas the transportation companies are trying to improve the efficiency of the existing network, and although both are working toward improvement, differences of opinion are bound to occur because of the different strategies. In conclusion, to understand the spatial pattern change in public transportation, it is necessary not only to follow the tendencies over time but also to have a clear view of the decisions made and especially policies formed by the administration and the companies.