Differences and Similarities of transportation

Miyuki

There are a lot of kinds of public transportation which are often used in Spokane and Nishinomiya; bus systems and train systems. In fact, there are also many differences and similarities between the two cities even they use the same sorts of transportation. I came to the United States for the first time and have been surprised at the diversity of public transportation between Spokane and Nishinomiya, where MWU is and I live. In addition, as time goes on, I have also figured out resemblance. As a result, with these differences and similarities, I can understand how significant public transportation for Spokane and Nishinomiya is to meet need of people living in Spokane and Nishinomiya.

Nishinomiya has significant public transportation meeting need of people: trains and buses. Nishinomiya is a small city located on Hyogo, but it has three kinds of train public transportation systems which are very useful: Hankyu Railway, and Hanshin Railway, and JR-West. First, Hankyu Railway was established on June 12, 1899 as Settsu Electric Railway Co., Ltd and changed the name into Hankyu Railway on July 7, 1899. Hankyu Railway mainly connects Osaka, Kobe and Takarazuka with Kyoto and has no less than 10 lines. In addition, the fare is reasonable although it changes depending on travel distance; you can travel from $1.50 to $6 from 1 to 76km around the city or use integrated circuit cards (PiTaPa and ICOCA). As a result, there are 1,950,000 people using Hankyu Railway every weekday. Second, Hanshin Railway was established in 1907 as Minoo Arima Electric Tramway Company. Hanshin Railway mainly connects Osaka with Kobe and has no less than four lines; moreover, the fare is appropriate as well as Hankyu Railway; you can use IC cards, commuter passes, coupon tickets and tickets which can be discounted. Third, JR-West (West Japan Railway Company) was founded on April 1, 1987 as part of Japanese National Railways, which the government owns. It mainly helps people travel for business and leisure between small cities and rural areas in western Japan, and JR-West mainly connects Osaka with Fukuoka, which is located on north of Kyusyu. It has no less than 1,222 stations and more than 60 lines. In addition, when it comes to the fare, IC cards are accepted, and other tickets which can be discounted are also useful as well as other companies. As a result, it prospers to have 52.011 billion per year from not only Nishinomiya but also from other cities. These three train companies connect Nishinomiya with other famous cities such as Osaka, Kobe, Takarazuka, Kyoto, and Fukuoka. They help people have small trips at a reasonable expense. Now, there can be some reasons based on geography and population of Nishinomiya. First, as I referred, Nishinomiya is near large and popular cities and prefectures like Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe, and Takarazuka. In these prefectures and cities, a lot of people commute to schools or offices, so it is essentially needed for the train to connect Nishinomiya with other big parts of Japan with lots of lines even between small cities. Additionally, there is enough population (476,329) to build many rail roads, and they meet the customers’ need in a densely populated district. This is why train systems are important in Nishinomiya.

On the other hand, the buses are also magnificent transportation, and there are three kinds of bus systems: Hankyu bus, Hanshin bus, and Sakurayamanami Bus. First, Hankyu Bus was founded on July, 24, 1927, and the buses run in the three areas: Kyoto, Osaka, and Hyogo, including Nishinomiya. Second, Hanshin Bus was established on December, 14, 2005, and the buses mainly run around Amagasaki, Osaka, Kobe, and Nishinomiya. Third, Sakurayamanami Bus was founded on April, 1, 2009, and the buses run only in Nishinomiya, and the routes of buses are set up around from Nishinomiya to other main cities. When it comes to the fares of the three bus systems, although it depends on travel distance, they are very reasonable as well as train systems because there are many valuable things: IC cards, discounted tickets for the elderly and children, and coupon tickets. In addition, some buses have designed barrier-free for the elderly and handicapped. As a result, these buses are used by any generation. Additionally, there should be some reasons located on geography and population of the small city, Nishinomiya. Although Nishinomiya is a tiny city, there are lots of facilities such as shopping centers and supermarkets, so it would be easier to go there by bus than by train because there are many stops standing around the city, and it takes short time to get there. In addition, Nishinomiya has large population (476,329), and it is also needed for private bus companies to provide them with public transportation which can be useful and convenient. For these reasons, both train systems and bus systems are important for people in Nishinomiya and prove useful.

Spokane also has wonderful public transportation to meet need of people living there: buses and trains. There are two kinds of important public transportation: Amtrak and STA. The former is so useful that people can travel in long distance, and the latter is also so great that people can use it to go somewhere locally easily. Now, let me explain Amtrak system. The name is derived from America and Track. Amtrak was organized on May 1, 1971 as a government-owned corporation to provide service in the United States. It also supplies passenger service on 21,000 miles (34,000 km), and 500 destinations in 46 states. In the United States, there did not use to be a national railway, and only private railways were used; however, a lot of private railways were abolished because people began to use air planes and cars, and the numbers using trains decreased in 1960s. To save train systems in the United States, small companies in each area got together to start of Amtrak. To ride on Amtrak, you need to make reservation with an identification card in advance, but there are some seats you can have without a reservation. There are basically sleeping berths and seats, and the price is different from each of them. For example, if you want to travel for Seattle to Los Angeles, you need to pay $174 for a seat, $417 for a berth, and $589 for a bedroom. Although the price is not so reasonable, Amtrak secures regular numbers of passengers (in 2008, 28.7 million passengers used Amtrak). In contrast, some people in Spokane often do not use Amtrak except if they want to travel in a long distance, and they often do not use trains because Spokane does not have local trains. This is because and the United States has a large land, and Amtrak connects only a big city with another big city because of the size of the United States. There is not enough population in each area, so it might be difficult for train companies to build new railroads in every small city. However, Amtrak is still needed for the reasons above.

Next, Spokane is famous for STA, which is the shorten name of Spokane Transit Authority. STA was founded in 1980 as the Spokane Public Transportation Benefit Area Authority. The service of buses’ running in the Spokane area started in 1883, and as STA was developing, 26 million passengers used STA in 1946. The Buses always run around the cities including Spokane Valley, Cheney, Liberty, Airway Heights, Medical Lake, and Spokane with lots of passengers (248 square miles (642 km2) and STA has 149 buses running around these areas). There should also be a reason why STA is popular in Spokane: the fare. In 2011, you need $1.50 for single ride regular fares, $0.75 for VIP fares, and $3.50 for Day passes for adults and VIPs. In addition, you need $45.00 for Adult 31-day passes and $22.50 for VIP 31-day passes. Additionally, there must be some reasons based on geography and population of Spokane. Spokane is a part of Washington State, and there are a lot of stores clustering together in small parts of Spokane like Valley Mall and North Town. These streets are so crowded, which means that there is enough population for bus companies to prepare many buses. For these reasons, STA is also important for people in Spokane. These train and bus’s systems of public transportation are important with great and valuable things like reasonable fares.

Finally, through learning both features of public transportation, I have reconfirmed that both public transportation is important in the two countries. In addition, the differences and similarities are also significant to satisfy people living there. The differences are the amount of railways and frequency of using trains. In Spokane, trains connect only from a big city with another large city; however, in Nishinomiya, trains connect not only between big cities but also small towns. In addition, the reasons why they use trains are different. In Spokane, people use them to travel in a long distance, but in Nishinomiya, people use them not only travel in a long distance but also in a short distance. As a result, the frequency of using trains becomes different. The similarities are that these buses run around the cities and there are a lot of bus stops to be useful. In both Spokane and Nishinomiya, people use them in an easy way, so the frequency becomes almost the same. As a result, I have realized how valuable and interesting both systems of public transportation of both Spokane and Nishinomiya are for people to go either in a long distance or in a short distance.