Osaka’s Nishi Ward Office and Osaka Metro will sign a partnership agreement on AI on-demand transport on Friday, November 6, both sides announced on October 28. The agreement’s stated aims include keeping the book-by-app bus service running beyond its current trial in the ward.

The trial buses have no fixed timetable: riders book a seat and an AI system routes shared rides in real time. Nishi’s experiment is one of twelve wards added on October 28, 2025, and the city has extended it for another year: after approval at an August 6 review meeting, the trial now runs through October 27, 2027 (planned), the city announced on October 29. Buses run 9:00 to 19:00. Fares in Nishi are 300 yen for adults and 150 yen for children, and a digital monthly pass costs 5,000 yen per area. Osaka Metro Group already runs the service full-scale in four wards – Kita, Fukushima, Ikuno and Hirano – since April 2024.

Under the agreement, the ward and the company will cooperate on running the trial smoothly, building resident understanding, and putting together a continued operating structure for after the experiment. The ward also wants the buses introduced to people who live, work and study in Nishi, and the two will collaborate on promoting the ward itself.

Friday’s signing ceremony (15:00-15:30, Nishi Ward Office) is closed to the public; the ward says it will post the signed agreement on its website afterward. Questions: Nishi Ward General Affairs Division, 06-6532-9908.

日本語

大阪市西区役所とOsaka Metro（大阪市高速電気軌道）は11月6日（金）、AIオンデマンド交通の推進等にかかる事業連携協定を締結すると、10月28日に発表しました。協定の目的には、現在区内で実施中の社会実験終了後も、予約制の乗合バスの運行を継続できる体制づくりが含まれます。

AIオンデマンド交通は、決まった時刻表を持たないバスで、利用者の予約に合わせてAIがリアルタイムにルートと配車を決める乗合サービスです。西区の実験は2025年10月28日に新たに始まった12区のひとつで、市は10月29日、8月6日の検討会議での承認を受けて実験を1年延長し、期間を2027年10月27日まで（予定）とすると発表しました。運行は9時〜19時。運賃は大人300円・小児150円で、デジタル定期券は1エリア月5,000円です。Osaka Metroグループはすでに2024年4月から北区・福島区・生野区・平野区の4区で本格運行しています。

協定では、社会実験の円滑な実施、区民理解の促進、実験後の継続的な運行体制の構築のほか、西区で暮らす・働く・学ぶ人へのオンデマンドバスの紹介と普及、西区の魅力発信や区政PRでも連携します。

6日の締結式（15時〜15時30分、西区役所）は一般傍聴できません。協定書は締結後に区のホームページに掲載される予定です。問い合わせは西区役所総務課（06-6532-9908）へ。

Sources checked November 3, 2026 at 08:14 JST; figures verified against the Nishi Ward Office and Osaka Metro releases, the city’s AI on-demand transport notice and its October 29 trial-extension notice before scheduling.

• Nishi Ward Office: business partnership agreement with Osaka Metro (October 28)
• Osaka Metro: agreement with Nishi Ward Office on AI on-demand transport (October 28)
• City of Osaka: AI on-demand transport trials in 12 more wards from October 28, 2025
• City of Osaka: AI on-demand transport trial extended (October 29)