Interview survey was conducted with nine employees of seven Japanese governmental and public organizations related to the introduction of E-scooters, asking their perspectives on the introductions, to identify the current status and issues of the policies regarding E-scooters which are expanding in Japan, and to assist the next policy decisions in Japan and abroad._x000D_
As results, while the organizations responsible for traffic safety indicated the progress of their studies and perspectives, there was no organization responsible for studying such as impact for public and environment in the city area, and they are just standing by. One of the reasons could be that Japanese government operates under a strong ‘division of responsibilities’ and the scope of enforcement of each authority is restricted, leading to undefined responsibilities for new transportation devices such as E-scooters, which are unclearly specified._x000D_
As for their main perspectives, 4 participants stated that ” Police control is most important because traffic accidents and violations will increase due to growth of number of users” and indicated dependent on the police. They unconcerned the necessity of preventive measures. 5 participants stated, ‘the methods of experimentation and verification of E-scooters in Japan are biased in evaluation by the e-scooter users’. _x000D_
Additionally, a questionnaire conducted among public who had experienced seeing or using E-scooter in Tokyo showed that major determinants of attitudes were using intention, trust in government and operators, fearfulness, unawareness, and environmental benefits, suggesting that lack of study for the urban policy by government might have caused attitudes of public._x000D_
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Rie Goto, Ayako Taniguchi and Keiichi Hizaki
Department of Systems and Information Engineering, University of Tsukuba

 
ID Abstract: 421