Second Survey on Group Transportation for Children: "Safety Management" is Top Priority for Nearly 70% in Vendor Selection, but "Cost Barrier" Hinders Use

nori-nori Inc. (Headquarters: Yokohama, Kanagawa; CEO: Mitsuru Hattori) conducted a survey on "Group Transportation for Children," targeting ① school officials from kindergartens, nursery schools, children's centers, and elementary to high schools, and ② parents of children attending these institutions. In recent years, with the increase in dual-income households and reforms in teachers' working styles, the burden of "group transportation for children" for school events and club activities has become a major issue for both educational institutions and parents. To continuously monitor this situation and explore better transportation systems, nori-nori Inc. conducted its second "Survey on Group Transportation for Children," following last year's survey. This survey revealed that while about 60% are positive about using official charter buses, cost is the biggest barrier. We explore what solutions are needed for a sustainable transportation infrastructure. *When citing the contents of this press release, please do the following: - State that the source is a "survey by nori-nori Inc." - Include a link to nori-nori Inc. (https://nori-nori.co.jp/) Survey Overview: Survey on "Group Transportation for Children" [Survey Period] May 15 (Fri) - May 18 (Mon), 2026 [Survey Method] Internet survey by PRIZMA (https://www.prizma-link.com/press) [Number of Respondents] 1,019 (①509 / ②510) [Survey Target] Monitors who identified as ① school officials or ② parents of children attending kindergartens to high schools at the time of the survey. [Survey Source] nori-nori Inc. (https://nori-nori.co.jp/) [Monitor Provider] Sacrisa Survey Topics - Public transportation is most common, but private cars driven by parents/teachers are also frequent. - The biggest challenge in transportation is "cost." - About 60% are positive about using charter buses. - "Safety management" is the top priority when selecting a provider. Currently, while public transportation is the most used method, carpooling in private vehicles driven by parents and teachers also ranks high. This suggests that many cases rely on the efforts of individuals rather than arranging official charter buses. Particularly when teachers or parents are driving, there are concerns about safety, as well as issues of responsibility in case of an accident and the burden on their primary work and personal lives. The biggest challenge is "cost"; parents also concerned about "safety" and "carpooling burden" The survey showed that securing a budget and financial burdens are the biggest hurdles for everyone involved, regardless of their position. Furthermore, while schools see the practicalities of arrangement and teachers' excessive workload as issues, parents tend to be concerned about safety and the burden of being on carpool duty. This suggests that the inability to outsource to external vendors and the reliance on private cars ultimately place different kinds of burdens on both parties. Given these challenges, how is the option of safer and more reliable outsourcing perceived? Regarding the "intention to use official charter buses for school events, off-campus activities, and club activities," about 60% of respondents gave a positive answer. More than half desire the use of charter buses, highlighting a high potential demand. It is believed that expectations for professional services are high in terms of reducing the driving burden and ensuring safety. The biggest barrier to using charter buses is the "difficulty of budgeting" Despite many people wanting to use charter buses, what prevents them from actually arranging them? When asked about the "reasons for finding it difficult to use official charter buses even if desired," the "high cost" was the overwhelming reason. This shows that even though people want professional transportation, a realistic financial hurdle is preventing its adoption. The fare system for typical charter buses, which can be expensive even for short-term use, is likely a contributing factor to the difficulty in budgeting. Safety concerns were also raised, indicating that a reliable safety management system, not just a low price, is an essential condition for service selection. Top priority in vendor selection is "safety management," surpassing "reasonable price" Even with cost being a barrier, what is the most prioritized criterion when actually outsourcing transportation buses? Despite significant financial concerns, "safety management" surpassed "reasonable price" in vendor selection. This shows that ensuring safety is an uncompromising top priority when entrusting children's lives. At the same time, "flexibility" is also sought, indicating a high demand for detailed responses tailored to the schedules of schools and kindergartens. As a way to reduce the cost barrier of using charter buses, there is a "charter bus time-sharing" service. This service combines multiple user needs within the same vehicle's operational plan, effectively utilizing idle time to offer charter buses at a low cost and with ease, even for short-term use. Opinions on this cost-reducing "time-sharing" mechanism were also collected. Both school officials and parents showed a positive response, with more than half being open to using the time-sharing system, suggesting expectations for it as a new mechanism to reduce financial burdens. However, concerns such as "whether it will fit the desired time and itinerary" and "anxiety about sharing with others" were also raised, indicating that a system that resolves scheduling anxieties, in addition to being convenient, is required. [Overall Summary] Towards balancing "cost" and "safety." Building a sustainable group transportation infrastructure. This "Second Survey on Group Transportation for Children" has brought to light the realities and challenges faced by both school officials and parents in arranging transportation. Currently, public transportation and private carpooling are common, but relying on individual teachers and parents to drive creates significant burdens, including excessive workload and safety concerns. To move away from this situation, about 60% showed a positive attitude towards using professional "official charter buses." However, the biggest barriers to implementation are the "high cost and difficulty of budgeting," creating a dilemma where they want to use safe means but cannot realistically afford it. Nevertheless, when selecting an external provider, "safety management" is prioritized over price, demanding a reliable and high-quality transportation method, not just cost reduction. As a potential solution, more than half showed a positive attitude towards the "time-sharing" mechanism. To protect children's valuable experiential opportunities while eliminating the excessive burden on teachers and parents, the dissemination of a "new transportation infrastructure" that balances reliable safety with reasonable prices and flexibly responds to on-site needs will be necessary for the future of education. For charter bus time-sharing services, choose 'NORI-NORI' nori-nori Inc. (https://nori-nori.co.jp/), which conducted this survey, offers the charter bus time-sharing service 'NORI-NORI'. ■ What is "NORI-NORI"? "NORI-NORI" is a time-sharing service that allows multiple users to jointly utilize a charter bus, enabling short-term use from as little as 30 minutes in 10-minute increments. This provides users, including local businesses, with an easy and flexible means of transportation, supporting business expansion and improving convenience. It also aims to reduce the transportation and commuting burden on local residents and contribute to environmental load reduction by improving bus productivity and reducing the burden of bus ownership for various operators. In recent years, while extracurricular activities and collaborations with tutoring services at nursery schools, children's centers, and kindergartens have become more active, arranging transportation has become a major challenge. Furthermore, with a severe shortage of drivers, securing safe and efficient means of transportation is required. With typical charter buses, even short-term use incurs certain time and costs, including pre- and post-departure inspections, deadheading, and operational management, making short-term use relatively expensive. "NORI-NORI" offers a new form of transportation that solves these issues by improving the productivity of drivers and vehicles through charter bus time-sharing. ■ Features of the "NORI-NORI" charter bus time-sharing service "NORI-NORI" provides a system that enables time-sharing among users while ensuring thorough safety management, with our company centrally managing the buses, including pre- and post-departure inspection times. This allows users to flexibly use charter buses at a price corresponding to their actual usage time. ✓ Short-term use available: Use from as little as 30 minutes in 10-minute increments, allowing for cost-effective transportation even for short durations. ✓ Safety assurance: Our company centrally manages vehicle inspections and driver break times to provide safe operations. ✓ Efficient operation management: We coordinate and integrate the needs of multiple users to improve the productivity of drivers and vehicles. - Details here: https://nori-nori.co.jp/ - Reservations here: https://nori-nori.co.jp/reserve - Inquiries here: https://nori-nori.co.jp/#contact [Company Profile] Company Name: nori-nori Inc. Headquarters: Cross Gate 7F, 1-101-1 Sakuragicho, Naka-ku, Yokohama 231-0062 CEO: Mitsuru Hattori Business: Charter bus time-sharing service Established: February 8, 2024 URL: https://nori-nori.co.jp