Ensuring Safe and Reliable Chartered Bus Operations
Overview
Since fiscal year 2017, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism has placed investigators on chartered buses in service as passengers to examine compliance with laws and regulations. This fiscal year, it will again conduct unannounced undercover ride-along surveys of chartered bus operators. The surveys will run from October 2026 through February 2027. They will examine matters including transport outside authorized areas, provision of rest breaks, seat belt guidance and use, and assignment of relief drivers. Operators suspected of serious legal violations will be audited; if violations are confirmed, administrative sanctions or guidance will follow.
Key points
- This fiscal year's surveys will run from October 2026 through February 2027.
- The surveys will be conducted without prior notice and will target chartered bus operators.
- Operators suspected of serious legal violations will be audited, and administrative sanctions or guidance will follow if violations are confirmed.
Overview
Since fiscal year 2017, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism has placed investigators on chartered buses in service as passengers to examine actual compliance with laws and regulations.
To check whether chartered bus operators comply with laws and regulations, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism conducts on-site audits at business offices and roadside audits at bus stops and terminals in tourist areas and airports. In addition, undercover ride-along surveys examine actual operating conditions that cannot be verified through document reviews and other checks during audits.
Impact
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism says the surveys will help identify operators whose legal violations compromise safe operations at an early stage and ensure safe operations.
Details
The surveys target chartered bus operators and are conducted by parties commissioned by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. Private investigators board buses actually in service as ordinary passengers, and the surveys are unannounced.
Survey items include whether buses transport passengers outside authorized areas, whether adequate rest breaks are provided, seat belt instructions and use, and assignment of relief drivers.
Operators suspected of serious legal violations will be audited. Following the audit, operators found to have violated laws and regulations are subject to administrative sanctions or guidance.