Photo= The foreigner-friendly taxi stand set up at the square in front of the Central Gate of JR Kyoto Station (Shimogyo Ward, Kyoto)

A questionnaire conducted by the Kyoto City Government and others has shown that Japan's first foreigner-friendly taxi stand installed at Kyoto Station, Shimogyo Ward, Kyoto, has gained a good reputation among the a majority of users. On the other hand, the survey has also revealed the problem that a sufficient number of taxis has not been ensured.

The special taxi stand was set up in March by an executive committee consisting of the Kyoto City Government, Kinki District Transport Bureau of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, the taxi association of Kyoto Prefecture, and others. The executive committee conducted the questionnaire, to which 474 foreigners who used the stand from March 1 to 23, responded.

Regarding the special taxi stand, the answer to the question, "Do you want to use the stand when you take a taxi from Kyoto Station?" was "Yes" by 97.9% of the respondents. When asked the reason, with multiple answers allowed, the top answer was "friendly" (16.6%), followed by "convenient" (15.1%) and "available in foreign languages" (9.9%).

Asked whether they realized that the stand was especially for foreigners, 20% answered "I did not realize." As for the use of the same types of taxis from places other than Kyoto Station, 70% hoped for the installation of special taxi stands, while 20% wanted the development of a taxi dispatch application.

An investigation into the operational situation of the foreigner-friendly taxis was conducted around the same time as the questionnaire. According to the investigation, the daily average usage for the special stand is 71.6 times, or about eight or nine times per hour. Some drivers expressed the opinion that, "The number of waiting vehicles is not enough depending on the time and day." Kyoto City Tourism MICE Promotion Section said, "As this issue has come to light, we would like to improve the system to enhance the satisfaction of foreign tourists."