Yawata - Tanabe Bus Route (八幡田辺線)
The Yawata - Tanabe Bus Route is the number of bus routes operated by Keihan Bus Co. Ltd., including several principal bus routes that depart from Yawata City Station (located in Yawata City, Kyoto Prefecture), Shin-Tanabe Station, and Kyotanabe Station (located in Kyotanabe City).
This article also describes the following bus routes:
Uchizato-Nishi Iwata Loop Route: This was the official name of the route when it belonged to the former company called Keihan Uji Transport Co. Ltd., and after it was merged by Keihan Bus Co. Ltd., the route was consolidated with the Yawata - Tanabe route. Yawata Uji Route: Although this route has been discontinued, it was originally established to use Uji Bus Garage as a base station in order to park out-of-service buses; this route was related to the Yawata Tanabe Bus Route. Yawata Okubo Route: The Yawata Okubo Route succeeded the Yawata Uji and the Keihan Yawata Route; this route operates from the Keihan Uji Management Office/Okubo Station, (located in Kyoto Prefecture) running through the Keihan Yawata Route.
History
From the Otokoyama Bus Co. Ltd. period to Keihan Bus Co. Ltd. (Hirakata) period
The Management company operating the bus routes had changed from Otokoyama Bus Co. Ltd. to the Keihan Bus Co. Ltd. (Hirakata route), to the Keihan Uji Transport Co. Ltd., and to the Keihan Bus Co. Ltd. (Otokoyama/Kyotanabe route). The Yawata Tanabe Route began operating in November, 1938 under Otokoyama Bus Co. Ltd. management, (this route operated even during World War II) categorized as a middle-distance bus route. About 1941, Otokoyama Bus Co. Ltd. transferred the operator's license to Keihan Bus Co. Ltd., and handed over all bus routes. At that time the Keihan Bus Hirakata Management Office managed the routes.
(Although the principal bus stop of the route, Yawata-guchi bus stop, was located closer to the Keihan Bus Yodo Management Office, - ceased operations in 1967) the Hirakata Management Office operated the Yawata Tanabe Route.)
Keihan Uji Transport Co. Ltd. period
In June 1969, the Keihan Uji Transport Co. Ltd. established a route at the Kuzuha area in Hirakata City, Osaka Prefecture. In order to connect the new routes in Kuzuha area to routes managed by Keihan Bus Co. Ltd., Keihan Uji Transport Co. Ltd. requested transferring the Keihan Bus routes on March 3, 1969 prior to the establishment of the new route. Upon agreement and acceptance of the request, the Keihan Bus Co. Ltd. filed an application for discontinuing routes running via Uchizato and Iwata on April 1, 1969. On October 29 of the same year, the Keihan Bus Co. Ltd. handed these routes over to Keihan Uji Transport Co. Ltd..
At the same time, the Keihan Uji Transport Co., Ltd. took over the route between Shin-Tanabe and Kyotanabe Municipal Kusauchi elementary school (renamed and currently called Kusauchi. The current location of the bus stop also differs from the previous location at the time of the hand over.)
Because of this transfer, some buses on the Yawata Tanabe Line departed from and arrived at Kusauchi Municipal elementary school. The route operating from the Keihan Yawata to Independent administrative institutional organization Minami-Kyoto Hospital via the Yamashiro Ohashi Bridge also remained a while after the hand over.
At the same time, the route going from Uji Bus Garage to Keihan Yawata via Kintetsu Okubo was also established, by the Uji Management Office that was managing the garage. (The Yawata Tanabe Line came under the joint management of the Uji Management Office and the Uji Tawara Management Office of the Keihan Uji Transport Co. Ltd., which was existing at the time.)
At the time, Yawata Tanabe operated two different routes.
(There was also a route that turned back half way at Iwata bus stop. Basically this has not changed since then. However, the Yawata Uji Line was managed soley by Uji Management Office at the time.)
Basically, buses managed by Uji Tawara Management Office and Uji Management Office used to run between Iwayama and Shin-Tanabe, (called the Tanabe Route at the time) and not-in-service buses directly headed for the Uji Bus Garage.
In 1971, the Kuzuha Management Office of Keihan Uji Transport Co. Ltd. was established, although it was not in charge of the Yawata Tanabe Route. On April 6 of the same year, Yawata Elementary School bus stop was newly established. On July 29 of the same year, this route was linked to Kyoto Prefectural Kawahara Apartments, (housing complex located on the north side of Kyoto prefectural Tanabe High School) and began operations. In this revision, the route running on the half way of the Yawata Tanabe Route between Shin-Tanabe and Kusauchi was discontinued for a while. From July 20, 1972, routes operating from Kougyo High School (currently Tanabe High School) to Higashi, and Kusauchi-guchi to Kusauchi shifted their routes to the newly connected National Highway 307.
On February 22, 1974, Uji Tawara Management Office was integrated with Uji Management Office and ceased operations; only buses operated by Uji Management Office continued on the Yawata Tanabe Routes for a while. On May 20 of the same year, Otokoyama Management Office belonging to Keihan Bus Co. Ltd. was established (The office started operations on May 27 of the same year). According to the diagram revision made effective on September 16 of the same year, buses managed by the Uji Management Office were transferred to the Otokoyama Management Office.
(Buses managed by Uji Management Office continued on the Yawata Uji Line, thus the line was jointly managed by Uji and Otokoyama Management Offices until January 11, 1999, after the line changed to Yawata Okubo Line. Only busses operated by Otokoyama Management Office were jointly operated on the Yawata Tanabe Line. Also, Route 61 remained under the Management of Uji management Office for interval operations on the Tanabe Line until November 11, 1988.)
From the diagram revision made effective on September 16, 1974, route numbering was added to each route according to the route and destination.
Route numbers per the September 16, 1974 diagram revision are as follows;
Route 70: Keihan Yawata - Uchizato - Shin-Tanabe - National Hospital Organization Kyoto Medical Center
Route 72: Keihan Yawata - Sayama - Hayashi - Kintetsu Okubo - Uji carbarn
Route 73: Keihan Yawata - Uchizato - Shin-Tanabe - Kawahara Housing front - Kusauchi
Route 74: Keihan Yawata - Uchizato - Shin-Tanabe -Kawahara Housing front
Route 75: Keihan Yawata - Iwata - Shin-Tanabe -Kawahara Housing front
Route 76: Keihan Yawata - Iwata
Route 78: Keihan Yawata - Iwata - Shin-Tanabe
Route 79: Keihan Yawata - Uchizato - Sanno
After July 26, 1997, the names of the bus stops for JR (Japan Railroad) Tanabe and Shin-Tanabe were officially renamed to 'JR Kyotanabe' and 'Kintetsu Shin-Tanabe.'
At the time of the merger with Keihan Bus Co. Ltd., the names of the bus stops were standardized with an official naming system of the Keihan Bus and renamed to 'Kyotanabe Station' and 'Shin-Tanabe'; however, the Shin-Tanabe was changed back to 'Kintetsu Shin-Tanabe' according to a diagram revision made effective on October 19, 2008.
On the same day, Kyotanabe Station also reverted back to 'JR Kyotanabe.'
On May 26, 1979, a new bus stop Konishi was founded at the section of the route between Mori - Kawaguchi. On January 7, 1981, buses departing from and arriving at Kawahara Housing were transfered to depart from Shin-Tanabe Station according with the completion of a new road near Shin-Tanabe Station, while the section of the route between Shin-Tanabe and the Kawahara Housing was discontinued. At the same time, Route 61 running between Shin-Tanabe and Kusauchi was re-established. Route 70 running between Keihan Yawata and the National Hospital Organization Kyoto Medical Center was discontinued because of the decrease in passengers, while the original Route 75 was integrated into Route 78 to become the second generation Route 75 that was operated from Keihan Yawata to Shin-Tanabe via Iwata. At the same time, Route 75B was established and was operated from Keihan Yawata - Iwata - Shin-Tanabe - Kusauchi. Also, Route 73 was altered to operate one-way only, running from Keihan Yawata.
After this revision, most buses operated between Keihan Yawata and Shin-Tanabe, except for a few routes running between Keihan Yawata and Kusauchi (Only Route 75B departed from Kusauchi.)
Also, a new bus stop Iwata Minami was introduced on Route 76 between Keihan Yawata and Iwata, thus the section between Iwata and Iwata Minami was extended on May 13, 1982, to operate between Keihan Yawata and Iwata Minami. On the same day, a new bus stop Komiya was established between Kawaguchi and Shimo-Nara.
After completion of the Yawata City Station Front Bus Terminal in 1983, an alteration of the route was made between Yawata Elementary School (the names of the bus stops were later standardized by the naming policy of Keihan Bus, and this bus stop was renamed 'Yawata Elementry School Front' from April 1, 2006) and Keihan Yawata.
The Yawata Uji Route also went through a route alteration several times. After April 13, 1976, buses began stopping at Ichida. At the same time, the route operating via Kintetsu Okubo was discontinued; instead, the route was altered to pass through the residential area of Ichida, Yasuda, and Kitayama residences via the Shimozuya Entrance, heading for Ogura Station (Kyoto Prefecture). After the revision made effective on March 13, 1981, the route revision was performed according to alterations made to commuting districts of the neighboring high schools, by transferring the route running via Ichida and Yasuda to via Kumiyama Housing, Nagi, and Midorigahara instead.
After establishing the Keihan Bus Kyotanabe Management Office (name of the office at the time) in 1989, some buses under control of the Otokoyama Management Office were transferred to Tanabe Management Office, and began their operations; the number of buses controlled by Tanabe Management Office gradually increased.
At the same time, the buses departing from Kusauchi was re-established on Route 73, operating round-trip once again,
A new route (Route 75C) was established in 1991 for some buses to stop at the newly established bus stop Ikejima,
At the same time, a small part of the buses operating on Route 76 had their routes altered and extended to Ikejima as Route 76B, to be operated during the rush hour (Keihan Yawata - Ikejima).
During the first half of 1990's, Route 61A that turns back on the way to Bizen (right near Kusauchi) and Route 61B that runs from Shin-Tanabe to Kusauchi via Higashi-Tanabe, were newly established.
According to a diagram revision made effective on April 17, 1996, the Kusauchi Route was divided into two at Shin-Tanabe, therefore all buses of the Yawata Tanabe Route began to operate between Keihan Yawata - Shin-Tanabe, and Shin-Tanabe - Kusauchi. According to a revision made effective on July 26, 1997, the Yawata Uji Route changed its name to the Yawata Okubo Route, after altering and shortening the route (without changing the route numbering) to operate between Keihan Yawata and Okubo Station (Kyoto Prefecture) for only 2.5 round-trips in a day during weekdays. All buses were managed by the Uji Management Office, except for one bus that ran one-way departing Kintetsu Okubo, and this was manged by the Otokoyama Management Office (operated through the Yawata Tanabe Route and its related route). At the same time, a new bus stop Yawata Civic Gymnasium for Yawata Tanabe Line was established. In light of the revision made effective on January 21, 1998, Otokoyama Management Office withdrew from the operation after the closing the last one-way trip bus.
The buses on the Yawata Okubo Route managed by the Uji Management Office were transferred to the Tanabe Management Office from January 11, 1999. After that, two buses of the Yawata Okubo Route, operating round-trip every weekday began operationgs under Tanabe Management Office.
(At the same time, they were no longer jointly operated on the Yawata Tanabe Route, but on the Okubo Route [still in use today, this is the general name of the routes that run between Kumiyama Housing and Kintetsu Okubo, with Route 26 as the main route] and the Miyanotani Route [Route 58A, which runs between Kintetsu Okubo and Miyanotani].)
In April, 2000, Route 73 that operated in a loop-route within Yawata City (Uchizato - Nishi Iwata loop-routed bus, counterclockwise bound) and Route 73A that ran to Uchizato Minami, the bus stop on the way to Route 73, were established. However, those routes were set up for one bus operation each at that time (only a one-way bus to Uchizato Minami for 73A) to maintain their operator's license until obtaining the route license for the Uchizato - Nishi Iwata section.
After the revision on July 1, 2000, a large number of buses operating both routes on the Yawata Tanabe Route, were decreased by changing the 30 minute interval during daytime operations to a 40 minute interval. This means an 80 minute interval for combining those two routes. Also, the section between Keihan Yawata and Kami-Nara operated as Route 76 that turned back on the way, while loop-routes 73 and 73C began running in intervals of 20 minutes, or 20 to 40 minute intervals for Kami-Nara to Nishi Iwata and Kami-Nara to Uchizato sections on the route. Route 73 was established by the revision, (Uchizato Nishi Iwata loop-routed bus, clockwise bound) while the number of buses operating on Route 73C were increased. Because of this revision, this route began actual operations, not just for the purpose of maintaining a route license. In contrast, the number of buses operating on the route between Nishi Iwata and Iwata Minami during the daytime substantialy decreased, since the daytime operations for Routes 73 and 73C were to substitute for buses on Route 76. By the way, the name of the bus stop, Agricultural Cooporative Association, was later changed to Yawata Municipal Yuto Elementary School.
Keihan Bus Co. Ltd. (Otokoyama/Kyotanabe) period
On April 1, 2006, Kyoto Uji Transport Co. Ltd. merged into Keihan Bus Co. Ltd., along with their associate company, Keihan Uji Tanabe Transport Co. Ltd.. After this merger, the Yawata Tanabe Route was again managed by Keihan Bus Co. Ltd. for the first time in 37 years.
However, Otokoyama and Tanabe Management Offices (names of the time) continued to manage the route, succeeding the period of Keihan Uji Transport Co. Ltd. (different from the condition before 1969)
Regarding route numbering, it was changed from Keihan Uji Transport Co. Ltd. Period 'XX keito' (Route XX) to official numbering of Keihan Bus Co. Ltd.'s 'XX go keiro' (No. XX Route)
The number of buses controlled by Tanabe Management Office dramatically increased, while buses managed by Otokoyama Management Office sharply decreased after the diagram revision for the merger. Around 2004 to 2006, prior to the merger, Route No. 75 was integrated into Route No. 75C. This happened when Ikejima bus stop became accessible by all buses after relocation. While Route No. 76B running between Yawata and Ikejima still operates today, the buses on this route now use a periphery factory road to change directions of the buses turning back, since the use of the bus rotary was terminated.
On November 9, 2007, the Yawata Okubo Route was discontinued because of the decrease in passengers and operation area revisions.
From May 10, 2008, the name of Tanabe Management Office changed to Kyotanabe Management Office after relocation, although the diagram of this bus route was not altered. On October 1 of the same year, the use of PiTaPa (multi functional IC payment card) was enabled for this bus route.
For the diagram revision made effective October 19 of the same year, the name of the bus stop, Matsushita-mae, was changed to 'Osumihama.'
Furthremore, the names of Kyo-Tanabe Station and Shintanabe were changed back to official names used during the late Keihan Uji Transport Co. Ltd. period, 'JR Kyotanabe' and 'Kintetsu Shin-Tanabe.'
Operational section on the route
As of the year 2008, the Yawata Tanabe Route operates on three routes and eight courses as their main route, or on four routes and eleven courses including related routes.
Main route
Route No. 73: Keihan Yawata - Konishi - Kami-Nara -kouzuya - Yawata Civic Gymnasium - Nishi Iwata - Iwata Kita - Uchizato Minami - Uhizato - Kami-Nara - Keihan Yawata
This is Uchizato Nishi - Iwata loop-lined, clockwise bound
Route No. 73A: Keihan Yawata - Konishi - Kami-Nara -kouzuya - Yawata Civic Gymnasium - Nishi Iwata - Iwata Kita - Uchizato Minami
This is a route that turns back in the middle of Route No. 73. This is only one operation in the form of a one-way trip (from Yawata to Uchizato Minami).
Route No. 73C: Keihan Yawata - Konishi - Kami-Nara -Uchizato - Uchizato Minami - Iwata Kita - Nishi Iwata - Yawata Civic Gymnasium - Kozuya - Kami-Nara -Konishi - Keihan Yawata
This is the Uchizato Nishi - Iwata loop-line, counterclockwise bound.
Route No. 74: Keihan Yawata - Konishi - Kami-Nara - Uhizato - Mino Yamaguchi - Matsui - Hakkoji - Okamura - Sanno - Ikkyu-ji-do - Tanabe Honmachi - Kyotanabe Station - Kintetsu Shin-Tanabe
Route No. 75: Keihan Yawata - Konishi - Kami-Nara - Kozuya - Yawata Civic Gymnasium - Iwata - Ikejima -Nakajimabashi - Sanno - Ikkyu-ji-do - Tanabe Honmachi - Kyotanabe Station - Kintetsu Shin-Tanabe (the origin of this route is Route 78 from the era of Keihan Uji Transport Co. Ltd.)
Route No. 76: Keihan Yawata - Konishi - Kami-Nara - Kozuya - Yawata Civic Gymnasium - Iwata - Iwata Minami
This turns back in the middle of the Yawata Tanabe Route. The number of the operating buses are limited, and currently there are no operations during the daytime.
Route No. 76B: Keihan Yawata - Konishi - Kami-Nara - Kozuya - Yawata Civic Gymnasium - Iwata - Ikejima
This turns back in the middle of the Yawata Tanabe Route. Operates only during rush hours.
Route No. 79: Keihan Yawata - Konishi - Kami-Nara - Uchizato - Mino Yamaguchi - Matsui - Okamura - Sanno
Turns back in the middle of the Yawata Tanabe Route. Currently only one round-trip bus is running.
Most of Route No. 75C, and the parts of other routes, except for sections between Kami-Nara - Sannno, Tanabe Honcho - Kintetsu Shin-Tanabe, Uchizato - Nishi Iwata, operate on Kyoto prefectural road No. 22 the Yawata Kizu Line.
Related routes
Route No. 61: Kintetsu Shin-Tanabe - Tanabe high school - Kusauchi
Route No. 61A: Kintetsu Shin-Tanabe - Tanabe high school - Bizen
Route No. 61B: Kintetsu Shin-Tanabe - Higashi Tanabe - Kusauchi
These operate from Shin-Tanabe to Kusauchi area. No. 61B route runs via a newly constructed road.
Operational vehicles
Most vehicles assigned to both the Otokoyama/Kyotanabe Management Offices are operational except for compact type/midium-size, short-length type buses. Although there are some sections of the route that are narrow, (also, there are two locations within those sections around the Okamura area, with almost right-angled corners for turning) there are no problems operating those large-sized buses. However, most of the buses handed over from former Keihan Uji Transport Co. Ltd. had been replaced altogether, by either new or transferred vehicles by the end of the year 2008.
Special notes
Routes No. 74/79 running via Uchizato, have sections of road that are narrow since the routes go through many residential areas; therefore a large number of the passengers on these route use the buses during daytime.
Constrasting the above, Route No. 75C operating via Iwata passes through industrial zones, such as the Kozuya industrial housing complex, Iwata industrial housing complex, and the adjacent Kyotanabe City Osumi area; therefore there are many passengers during the morning and evening rush hours.
The surrounding area of the Route No. 75C has some of major construction such as 'Nihon Luna,' (Kozuya) 'Onchi Foods,' (Iwata Minami) 'Dai-Nippon Printing,' (Ikejima) 'Meiji Dairy Foods Kyoto Factory,' 'Sumie Industrial' (a vehicle parts manufacture of buses. There is a bus stop named 'Nakajimabashi')
However, Route No. 75C does not operate during early morning hours, while there is only one bus departing from Keihan Yawata after 19:00.
Among buses operating on Route No. 75C, only those heading for Kintetsu Shin-Tanabe stop at Osumihama (to go to Yawata, passengers take buses from Ikejima, one bus stop closer to Yawata, or from Nakajimabashi that is one bus stope closer to Kintetsu Shin-Tanabe.)