In bicycle-advanced Western countries, efforts are being made to create an environment in which bicycles can be used effectively as a means of transportation, such as by providing bicycle lanes to ensure safe and comfortable riding and allowing bicycles to be carried on public transportation such as trains and buses.

In addition, shared bicycles have become recognized as a means of transportation for local residents and tourists, and are used by many people.
In Japan too, efforts are underway across the country to create safe, comfortable bicycle riding environments that make it easy for everyone to ride bicycles, with the aim of achieving smooth, congestion-free road traffic and environmentally friendly urban environments through low-carbonization.

In order for all cyclists to ride safely and comfortably around town, it is necessary to improve the riding environment. As a countermeasure, the national government and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism are supporting local governments in promoting the planned development of bicycle lanes, including the improvement of the bicycle usage environment.

Did you know that about 30% of the _CO2 emitted from homes comes from automobiles? In the face of this reality, many are calling for a shift from automobile use to bicycles, an eco-friendly form of transportation, as a measure to combat global warming, which is getting worse every year. Behind this opinion is the fact that about 80% of car trips are made by a single person, and about 40% of trips are trips of less than 5 km. It is perfectly possible to switch to bicycles.

That's why bicycle sharing has been drawing attention. Currently, bicycle sharing has been fully implemented in 110 municipalities nationwide, with social experiments being carried out in 19 municipalities. However, compared to other countries, the scale of implementation is still small, and the density of cycle ports is low, so the turnover rate per bicycle remains low.

In the future, we aim to popularize bicycle sharing to a level comparable to that of other countries by strengthening connections between bicycle sharing and public transportation and promoting the installation of cycle ports.