Toei Bus is a bus service operated by the Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation serving routes in the special wards of Tokyo and two routes outside of the city. Toei Bus is unique in that most transit in Japan is privately operated. Tokyo is one of two Japanese prefectures that directly owns and operates its public transit system.

Quick Facts:

Type: Public, Operated by Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation

Fleet Size: 1,467 Single Deck Buses

Routes: 138 Routes serving 1,639 Stops

Manufacturer and Powerplant: Toei Bus uses a domestically produced fleet from Isuzu, Hino (Toyota Diesel), Nissan UD (Nissan Diesel) and Mitsubishi Fuso. The fleet is a mixture of Diesel and Compressed Natural Gas Hybrid buses.

Fare Collection: The contactless card payment system in Tokyo is called Pasmo. Developed by Sony, they are used for payment aboard buses and trains and are interchangable with the Rail-Only Suica Card. Pasmo Cards can also be used to pay for games on the Wii U Nintendo eShop. The owner can also get their name printed on the card for free.

Livery: Toei Buses are usually painted Green, White and Orange and sometimes accompanied by the company mascot Minkuru. Buses are often decorated to celebrate national holidays.

Innovations: Riding the bus in Japan is very different than in North America. On some Toei Bus routes you board the bus at the rear and exit through the front. Whereas in the states you typically board at the front and exit through the front or rear.

Certain behaviors are social taboo when riding public transport. The use of cell phones to make calls while riding is frequently considered to be extremely rude. To the point where other passengers will vocally berate you for it and appear visibily disturbed. Being from Shinjuku I can tell you this is very true. Toei Bus does however equip their fleet with free wi-fi hotspots.

Driving Dynamics: The postion of bus driver in Japan is a well respected one. On average people have more respect for bus drivers in Japan than elsewhere in the world. As a result this has a heavy impact on the day to day life of a bus driver there. Typically buses are given their own lanes and stay to the far right to stay close to the curb. In the absence of bus lanes the motoring public in Tokyo is accomodating and will give way to buses and large vehicles. On aspect of note is that buses here are generally shorter than most other fleets in major metropolitian areas. Toei Bus length is usually around 35 feet instead of the longer 40 or 45. My guess would be because of the smaller and much more narrow streets.