While the use of cars has forced many Japanese bus services into a corner, a community service initiated by the city of Suzuka has proved a hit among residents of depopulated regions in Mie Prefecture.
Experts say the bus service could become a model for farming villages where public transport is either in short supply or nonexistent due to the use of cars.
Popularly known as the "C-bus," the 29-seat vehicle covers a distance of about 25 km once an hour between hilly areas and the center of Suzuka in the northern part of the prefecture.
A line bus that used to ply the route several times a day before the C-bus service was introduced in March 2000, carried around 2.5 passengers per run, compared with 13.4 by the community bus.