I. Title of the Best Practice

II. Overview of the Best Practice

A. Features of Transportation Demand Management (TDM) in Kawasaki City
1. Background
The TDM project in Kawasaki City is a model project to solve environmental problems caused by vehicle traffic, involving the cooperation of local government, commercial enterprises and their employees. Based on detailed studies on the status of commuter traffic and freight transportation, the city has attempted to establish TDM that is effective and easy to implement.

2. Contents of the practice
(1) Local studies and organization of frameworks to promote TDM:
Liaison committees were organized in each area in order to devise appropriate measures suited to the local transportation characteristics and examine them in detail. It is expected that this approach will contribute to the establishment of TDM measures that are accepted by local commercial enterprises and their employees.

(2) Verification of effectiveness of measures by social experiments:
Experiments were conducted with staggered commuting times and studies involving monitoring of route changes for freight transportation by heavy trucks. Based on these studies, the reduction of exhaust gases from vehicles can be inferred as a result of TDM. 42 enterprises and 1800 employees participated an five-day experiment implemented in February 1999. Time lag commuting by 156 employees (including 128 car commuters), change from car to bus commuting by 96 employees, car sharing by 107 employees were implemented during the five days. As a result, 5.8 % of CO2 reduction from usual was estimated according to the volume of traffic and the driving speed.

(3) Active information provision:
Meetings were held to provide information to local businesses and their employees, and lectures were given by academics. Information about this TDM project is publicized beyond Kawasaki City by posting on Kawasaki City's Internet website, etc.

B. Reasons for Inclusion as Best Practice

• This is a challenging and emerging approach. It is the first attempt in Japan to examine and promote the establishment of TDM measures at the local level, involving more than a hundred businesses.
• It can contribute to the formation of future policies to prevent global warming.
• It is useful for consideration by social actors other than G8 countries implementing domestic initiatives in developed countries. The management system and the ways to examine and promote the establishment of TDM can provide useful references for similar areas in and outside Japan.
• It is suitable to the situation in each area. The effectiveness of TDM in Kawasaki is expected to rise, owing to its consideration of local characteristics to devise appropriate TDM measures.
• It is effective. Nighttime traffic congestion at intersections has been resolved, and this will contribute to the improvement of the surrounding environment.
• It is promoted through cooperation of various actors: such as commercial enterprises, their employees and others.

C. Problems and their Solutions
Local commercial enterprises resist efforts to introduce TDM measures targeting freight transportation of heavy trucks, since it directly affects their operations. Kawasaki City has tried to solve this problem by creating opportunities to exchange information and discuss, organizing committees consisting of local enterprises, and organizing a committee of heads of several leading companies.
Field monitoring, though small in scale, was conducted on the route changes of freight transportation by heavy trucks in order to obtain actual proof of effectiveness.

III. Categorizing the Best Practice

1. Classification(s)
( ) Regulatory Approach (Policy approaches-regulations, incentives, etc.)
( ) Practical Action (Action undertaken independently by a social actor)
( X ) Social Network Mechanism (Cooperative structure)

2. Social Actor(s) Involved
( ) Citizens
( ) Central government
( X ) Local government
( X ) Business

3. Sector(s)
( X ) Energy
( ) Residential
( ) Industrial
( X ) Transportation
( X ) Commerce
( ) Agriculture/Land Use/ Forestry
( ) Others ( )

4. Target Greenhouse Gas(es)
( X ) CO2
( ) CH4
( ) N2O
( ) HFC
( ) PFC
( ) SF6
( X ) Other (CO, NO, NO2, SO2, SPM)

IV. List of Attachments

Omitted

V. Please indicate a person to contact for more information about this Best Practice.

Contact Person:	Takao Hayasaka
Title:	-
Organization:	Automobil Policy Division, Pollution Control Department, Environment Bureau, Kawasaki City
Email:	30zidou@city.kawasaki.jp
Tel:	+81-44-200-2531
Fax:	+81-44-211-6087
Address:	1, Miyamotocho, Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa-ken
Note:	N/A