This study evaluates a trial operation of park-and-cycle system in the city center of Yokohama City in 2000. Road network as well as parking spaces in the city center is congested very hard especially on holidays. Traffic congestion causes a variety of problems including environmental pollution, traffic safety problem, decline of urban activities, and so on. This system was proposed in order to alleviate the traffic congestion. On this system car drivers coming into the city center may use a parking space on the fringe of the center and come to destination by bicycle rented at the parking space. Users of the system can keep away from the traffic congestion on the road network in the center. Because citizens in the city and peripheral region were not familiar with the system, the trial operation of the system was designed and executed for two weeks in October 2000. Although several cities have introduced rental-bicycle systems in order to encourage modal shift recently in Japan, this system is quite unique in that the rental port is installed inside the parking facility and that only the users of the parking can borrow bicycles. The trial is, needless to say, the first one in Japan. Through the trial, the system was found to be effective in increasing the number of trips in the center. Many participants on the trial appreciate the system. However, some of the users were dissatisfied with the cycle network in the center.
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