August 20, 2026, 8:05 a.m. (JST)
[Japan] Keio Electric Railway Bus and Keio Bus (Tokyo, Japan) have been actively working since fiscal year 2025 to realize the fully cashless bus system promoted by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, with the goal of ending the use of cash for fare collection by fiscal year 2027.To achieve this goal, the companies have been gradually introducing a “credit card boarding” service since fiscal year 2025, utilizing Sumitomo Mitsui Card’s public transportation solution “stera transit,” and plan to complete its rollout to all route bus vehicles (excluding some community buses) by the end of November 2026.
The service will be implemented on all 628 route buses (excluding some community buses; as of the end of July).Furthermore, the system has already been fully implemented on a total of 266 vehicles (as of the end of July 2026, excluding some community buses) at the Nakano, Eifukucho, Chofu, and Sakuragaoka depots. Fuchu Depot(including the Koganei Branch), Koganei Depot, Tama Depot, Minami-Osawa Depot, Takao Depot, and Hachioji Depot—a total of 362 buses (as of the end of July 2026, excluding some community buses)—are scheduled to have the system installed by the end of November 2026.
In addition, Keio Bus has launched “fully cashless buses.” The company stated that smooth boarding and alighting through cashless payments reduce bus delays and help ensure on-time service, while also eliminating payment-related stress—such as the hassle of preparing change or dealing with insufficient balances and recharging public transportation IC cards.At the same time, the company noted that reducing tasks related to fare machines directly contributes to alleviating the burden on drivers—who are essential to safe operations—and to improving operational efficiency.
Since fiscal year 2025, the company has been conducting a pilot program for cashless buses on select routes within the Chofu Depot’s jurisdiction, where contactless credit card payments were introduced first. Passenger acceptance is growing, as evidenced by a decline in cash usage. Looking ahead to fiscal year 2027—the target year for ending the handling of cash for fare collection—the company will expand the pilot program to additional areas.The target areas will include all routes under the jurisdiction of the Nakano, Eifukucho, and Chofu (excluding Routes Take 91 and Take 93 [Musashi-Koganei Station South Exit to Chofu Station North Exit]) depots, as well as the Sakuragaoka Depot (excluding community buses). (paymentnavi Editorial Team)
