Hello world.
Everyday there are nearly 3 million trips taken on Tokyo's subway system, TOEI.
And that's only a fraction of the 40 million train trips that are taken in the Tokyo Metropolitan area.
That's because there are nearly 50 different railway operators in Greater Tokyo.
So the Tokyo Metropolitan Government,
which hangs out in this building,
runs these four subway lines on the map.
And that's only four out of the over 150 rail lines in Greater Tokyo.
Today we'll see how these four lines are kept safe, clean, convenient, and on time.
In fact, so on-time, that if there is a train delay,
workers can go online and issue themselves a late slip.
What I'm sure everyone wants to know
is how they push people into the trains during peak hours.
But I'm sorry to report, that while it does happen at certain times on certain train lines,
this doesn't happen on any of the TOEI lines.
It doesn't mean it's not busy though.
At Shinjuku station, there are about 312,000 passengers that use it daily.
However, we're at a less busy station, Tochomae, on the Oedo line,
which has about 52,000 passengers who use it daily.
Moving so many people around safely
requires the cooperation and coordination
of technology, staff, and passengers.
Let's first talk about a basic safety feature,
which is the yubi sashi kakunin system,
where station staff use their fingers to check the safety of trains and passengers.
We check the front of the train to see if the one with the correct number is arriving.
First of all, we check that no one is on the track and the train is safe to arrive.
“Platform is OK”
When the train is coming, I check and say, “23A, front is OK”.
No. 23A is coming as planned, that's what I check.
We also check that no one touches the train on the platform until it stops.
Thank you for riding.
Thank you for riding. This is the final stop.
Thank you for riding.
OK, clear.
All good.
Alright.
Side is OK.
Back is OK.
Barriers have been put in place on all four train lines,
but the installation is still in progress on the Asakusa line, since it has unique challenges.
The biggest one is that many operators and trains use the same set of tracks.
To get from Narita to Haneda airport,
a rider will first start off on the Keisei line.
However, without exiting the train, they'll magically transfer to the Asakusa line.
And then after a bit they'll do the same feat again for the Keikyu line
before arriving at Haneda airport.
Working with different trains and operators meant that a new solution had to be implemented
to coordinate the arrival of trains and the opening of the safety barrier doors.
That solution is these QR codes, called "home door",
which yes, is the English word for home door.
It's quite simple.
QR codes are placed on specific doors,
and when they are scanned by the overhead readers,
the barriers will open up as long as the right doors show up at the right spots.
For example, this is train car 2, door 3.
It's exactly where it should be, so the safety barriers open up.
The doors can also be operated manually by the station staff.
This can control every door open and shut by standing here, yeah.
This shows all the doors are closed now.
The driver controls the buttons to open and shut the doors,
what we have to do is to watch no riders get hurt,
no riders rush into the doors, or nothing gets stuck in the doors.
So checking the safety, that's our job.
Something that can be operated by everyone, is the emergency stop button.
If you push this emergency button, the trains will stop.
Because there are gates, people won't fall.
But, in the gap between the train and the platform, there was a person who got in between.
Does pushing the button stop all the trains?
Yes, that's true.
Trains will stop.
All the trains in this station will stop.
Equally as important as getting passengers in and out of trains quickly and safely,
is getting them into the train stations through the gates.
A couple decades ago, people buying tickets at the machines was the norm,
as was having to manually calculate the fare from point A to B,
which is no easy task if you're riding on multiple lines.
But nowadays there’s basically no point,
unless you fear the government tracking your movements,
because the IC cards are so convenient to tap your way through.
I was actually quite excited to get a phone with a built-in chip inside,
so that I don’t even need to carry a card with me anymore,
Nowadays, 90% of people use IC cards.
Under 10% are those special magnetic / paper tickets.
With all the passengers on the trains and in the stations,
manners are very important in keeping things running smoothly.
On the trains you can see a series of short videos explaining good etiquette.
It's said that eating and drinking on a train is bad,
but I personally think that if it's done on unbusy trains, no one will be bothered.
But yeah, most trains in Tokyo are crowded with people,
so he said it's generally not a good idea to eat and drink on a train.
If you've had the pleasure of riding on trains in Japan,
then you've probably seen young elementary school kids doing it on their own.
I talked with Suzuki-san about how some people from overseas are surprised about this.
If they think it’s surprising to see kids ride by themselves,
I'm actually surprised why it's not happening in other countries.
Are there scary people out there?
For me that's surprising,
because trains are basically safe travel vehicles,
so people think they're safe and use them.
Of course kids ride to schools and cram schools with their friends.
When riding on Japanese trains,
as with living in Japanese society,
you're always expected to think about how your actions affect others.
This is taught at an early age,
as witnessed by these booklets elementary school kids receive.
For example, talking on a phone is considered rude
because it would make the train noisy,
not allowing people to relax.
On the other hand, they're taught how they can help out passengers with different needs.
Along with accommodating small children,
the system is also designed to be barrier free,
allowing people in wheelchairs to easily get in and out of trains.
In this station, the gap between the train and the platform is within 10mm.
A ramp isn't needed for people in a wheelchair, they can get on and off by themselves,
making this a barrier free platform.
This station happens to be straight,
but at a station with curved tracks, there is enough of a gap
that a ramp is needed for people in a wheelchair.
When designing a station, if an elevator is located in front of the wheelchair car,
the person in a wheelchair doesn't have to travel far,
so they're usually in the middle of the platform.
That's because the wheelchair cars are in the middle of the trains.
The designs go beyond just the platform, and only being helpful to those with wheelchairs.
It's meant to help blind people with canes,
parents with strollers, and people with medical needs,
like with these bathrooms that can accommodate those with colostomy bags,
which is why the term universal design is often used.
With so many people commuting, there's bound to be lost items.
I've personally lost and received back items three times:
twice it was my backpack,
once it was my tripod.
Each time the missing item was found in under an hour.
How could this be?
- "Where did you leave it?" - "On the baggage rack."
"It's an umbrella on the handrail by the seat."
When the train stops, station staff use this microphone and say,
"We're looking for a lost item. Please wait.” Then we search.
We can’t stop the trains long, because this would delay the schedule,
so I think 1 minute is the limit.
All lost items get entered into a centralized computer system
so that any station can search for lost items.
Every month roughly 10,000 lost items are found,
with the number one thing being umbrellas.
You can easily tell that Tokyo's rainiest month is in September.
You can also see when winter comes around,
as the number of found gloves spikes.
The number two lost item?
Cash.
Which is not to be confused with wallets and purses.
Something viewers of my past train videos often comment on
is how clean the train system appears.
This comes down to the passengers mostly following etiquette,
but also to the cleaning staff that are prowling the stations.
There are first trains and last trains, so for riders,
it may seem like it's a system that sleeps a bit.
But for the train staff, it's a system that never sleeps.
Basically, station staff shifts are 24 hours.
While roll call occurs at 8:50am,
shifts are from 9am to 9am... yeah basically.
After the last train, the station staff sleep.
Last train staff and first train staff have different break times and staggered sleeping times.
So, for example, if there are 2 people in one team, and 2 people in another,
2 are the early shift, the other 2 are the late shift.
That's how we work.
Before the train staff pack it in for the night,
they need to clear the train.
Especially at a terminal station like this one.
Oh, the tough thing?
Late at night, drunken passengers won't get out.
So we have to wake them up,
and when they're awake, taking them out is tough.
This happens most everyday.
They're sleeping soundly until this station,
so when woken up they get upset.
They would say, "Don't wake me up!"
- "Excuse me sir, this is the last stop" - "Stop hassling me!"
Refusing to move.
During the daytime, things go smoothly,
but in this situation, the doors can't close, and the train can't leave.
Ususally 1 staff deals with it,
but as you saw before there are 2 staff,
then those two carry the drunken person out.
That's how we do it.
Do you put them on the benches?
Yes, we bring them there.
But even after we place them there, they keep on complaining for a while.
Yes, yes.
Since this is daytime, this clearing operation went rather smoothly though.
Thanks for riding, this is the last stop.
Apparently there's one passenger left inside.
So another staff is taking care of it.
Everything's clear.
I asked how they handled visitors with questions.
If you're an overseas visitor coming to Japan,
and have any concerns, please let us know,
so that we can solve those problems and you can enjoy our train system.
So please let us know your problems.
Ah, I was once asked to help plan a date.
"I don't have any plans whatsoever, but I want to go on a date. Where should I go? "
So I asked, "What would you like to do?"
"Would you like to go shopping, or go to the aquarium, go somewhere to see something...?"
I asked those questions.
While you can ask for anything,
most people query for help navigating the system,
like my wife is pretending to do.
The bigger stations have dedicated concierges that are up to this task.
I know we focused on trains,
but TOEI also has buses that transport about 640,000 passengers every day.
And because we have lots of great bus footage,
let's do a montage!
Other side please.
Thanks for watching, see you next time, bye!
What's the transportation system like where you're from?