TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Kaohsiung City Transportation Bureau and Tokyo’s Odakyu Electric Railway Co., Ltd. on Tuesday (April 19) signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly create more innovative mobility as a service (MaaS) options in tourism between Kaohsiung and Tokyo.

The virtual signing ceremony was attended by the head of the Institute of Transportation Lin Ji-guo (林繼國), Kaohsiung Transportation Bureau Director Chang Shu-chuan (張淑娟), and Odakyu Electric Railway’s General Manager of Management Strategy Masashi Hisatomi, CNA reported.

Chang said the MOU will help Kaohsiung develop its MeNGo integrated transportation pass and promote its results globally and is expected to boost tourism exchanges between the two cities once the pandemic subsides, per CNA. The MeNGo pass allows Kaohsiung residents to ride the MRT, light rail, ferries, buses, and other means of transportation, making it easier to get around the city.

The Odakyu Electric Railway serves many routes, including around Tokyo and in Japan’s Kanto region. In addition to railway and road transportation, the company has also diversified operations into hotels, shopping malls, and real estate. In 2019, it implemented a MaaS plan and launched the EMoT APP, which integrates multiple transportation services such as real-time traffic information, train ticket purchasing and seat selection, and car-sharing stations, into one platform.

Masashi said he hopes the MOU will lead to follow-up exchanges and cooperation between the two cities and will be the foundation for future bilateral tourism in the post-epidemic era, CNA cited him as saying.

The Kaohsiung Transportation Bureau pointed out that it will work with Odakyu Electric Railway so travelers can buy a MeNGo pass using the EMoT APP and vice versa. Additionally, the MeNGo pass could include Odakyu Electric Railway-related services in the future to promote tourism between Kaohsiung and Tokyo.