Transportation Issues at SFC | Tomohiro Ichinose, Dean of the Faculty of Environment and Information Studies

The new semester has begun, and the campus is full of energy as we welcome new students. For me, it might seem like the same cycle every year, but after the quiet spring break, seeing so many students coming and going makes me feel excited as well. This is exactly how a university campus should be. As if to welcome the new students, the cherry blossoms began blooming in late March, and as April arrived, the trees started to bud, with the campus growing more radiant by the day. This is the season when I truly feel glad that our faculty is located here.

Despite the students' excitement, the campus itself faces a major problem at the start of the academic year. This is the so-called "bus problem." It becomes an issue when people cannot board buses heading to or returning from campus. SFC is located in the northern part of Fujisawa City, and access to the campus primarily relies on buses from Shonandai Station or Tsujido Station. Since Shonandai Station is closer than Tsujido Station, with shorter travel times and lower fares, students and faculty members mostly use the bus from Shonandai. While the buses are usually crowded, the situation becomes particularly dire in April.

This bus problem has existed since the school opened in 1990, and the bus operator, Kanagawa Chuo Kotsu, has taken measures, such as introducing articulated buses, to increase transport capacity. Since the opening, it has been said that the bus problem would eventually be solved because a railway would be built. Efforts among stakeholders continue today, but it is certainly not opening anytime soon. This bus transportation issue remains a headache for Keio University.

By the way, buses from Tsujido Station are less crowded than those from Shonandai Station, so accessing the campus from Tsujido is an alternative during this period. Since it is about 3.5km from Shonandai Station to the campus, cycling would also be nice in this pleasant weather. However, the rental bicycle parking areas on the university side can sometimes fill up. If you find yourself waiting for several buses at Shonandai Station, walking might actually be faster. Or rather, living in the dormitory I introduced previously might be the easiest solution.    

Given that this campus champions "Problem Finding and Problem Solving," many students and faculty members have tackled this issue in the past, yet a fundamental solution has proven elusive. New challengers are always welcome. That said, some veteran faculty members say, "Well, it's just a month of patience. Once Golden Week is over, the situation improves significantly," and the fact that this isn't exactly a lie is a dilemma in its own right.