One year has passed since the opening of the Osaka-Kansai Expo, and six months since its closing. Behind the mood of success, the remaining issues are also becoming apparent. The electric buses that ran on electricity and were active both inside and outside the Expo grounds were purchased with taxpayer money for the Expo, but now they are left parked and abandoned. Will they become a “negative legacy”?
■ Will EV buses become a “negative legacy”? 135 abandoned buses On the afternoon of the 13th, the Osaka-Kansai Expo grounds were opened to the press. Looking from above, it appears that about 30% of the symbolic large roof ring has been dismantled, many pavilions have disappeared, and most of the site is now vacant land. Something that played an active role in this Expo remains in an unexpected form.
Reporter Takata Shimizu: “Look. You can see many buses parked over there.” These are electric buses lined up in a corner of the Osaka Metro Morinomiya Depot, where railway vehicles are inspected. Looking from above, there are 135 of them.
Reporter Takata Shimizu: “The buses have wheel chocks attached to their tires and are secured. There is some white dirt on the top of the bus, possibly bird droppings, indicating that the buses have been parked there for a long time.” These EV buses were used to transport passengers within the Expo site and to connect the site with stations. They were manufactured by a Chinese company, imported by EV Motors Japan Co., Ltd. (EVMJ) in Kitakyushu City, and purchased by Osaka Metro from fiscal year 2022 onwards.
According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, after receiving reports of “many malfunctions” from operators across the country, the Ministry instructed EV Motors Japan Co., Ltd. to conduct a comprehensive inspection, and subsequently carried out on-site inspections. The EV buses were scheduled to be used in autonomous driving demonstration experiments in Osaka Prefecture after the Expo closed. However, Osaka Metro decided at the end of March not to use any of the vehicles in the future, citing concerns that “safety cannot be guaranteed.” Regarding Osaka Metro’s decision, EV Motors Japan stated: “We are taking steps to prevent recurrence, and we have made specific proposals to Osaka Metro regarding improvement measures and operational responses to ensure the safety and stable operation of the vehicles. We have also been looking for a third-party organization to conduct an objective evaluation. We deeply regret that there is a difference of opinion between Osaka Metro and ourselves.” However, safety is not the only issue.
According to Osaka City, Osaka Metro purchased a total of 150 EV buses for the Expo at a cost of approximately 7.5 billion yen. It is said that 3.9 billion yen of this purchase cost was covered by subsidies from the national government and 480 million yen from Osaka Prefecture and Osaka City, meaning that more than half of it was covered by taxpayers’ money. Since the subsidies were granted with the expectation that the buses would be used even after the Expo closed, the national government and Osaka Prefecture and Osaka City are demanding that Osaka Metro return the funds. Osaka Metro has stated that it will “consult with all the grant recipients and respond appropriately.”
■Even before the Expo opened, there were reports of problems with the EV buses…
Ayaka Ogawa (Anchor): It’s been a year since the Expo, and there’s a sense of success, but was the decision to introduce EV buses justified?
Takata Shimizu (Reporter): The initial plan for the Expo was for 26,000 people to use these buses every day. Therefore, a considerable number of buses had to be secured. Furthermore, the Expo had a set deadline of April 13th. It cannot be denied that there was an element of rushing to secure the necessary number of buses in order to meet this deadline. When we interviewed Osaka Metro, who purchased the buses, they said that they initially approached domestic manufacturers, but were told that “mass production would be difficult within that timeframe,” so they ended up relying on EV Motors Japan.
Shohei Fujimori (Anchor): What will happen to these EV buses now? Takata Shimizu (Reporter): The use is still undecided, and how to utilize them going forward is still under consideration. EV Motors Japan, the sales company, stated that they had made concrete proposals to Osaka Metro to ensure the safety and stable operation of the vehicles for future use. However, Osaka Metro ultimately abandoned the use of the EV buses, citing concerns about safety. However, interviews with EV Motors Japan revealed that there was some internal pressure to meet the opening deadline. Furthermore, problems with the buses themselves, such as brake failures, doors not closing properly, and water leaks from the air conditioning, had been pointed out even before the Expo opened. To prevent these EV buses from becoming a negative legacy and to ensure the Expo isn’t simply over with a “thank goodness it’s over” attitude, the circumstances surrounding their introduction should be thoroughly investigated.
