Kyoto City is facing chronic overcrowding on its municipal buses due to a surge in tourism, prompting Mayor Takahiro Matsui to announce a new fare structure that will differentiate between residents and non-residents. Scheduled to be implemented by the fiscal year 2027, this initiative aims to reduce fares for local citizens by up to 200 yen while increasing prices for tourists. Matsui stated that this preferential pricing could help residents appreciate the benefits of tourism while addressing the issue of overtourism in Kyoto, which has been significantly affected by the influx of visitors.

Currently, the city's bus fare system consists of a fixed fare for the main areas and variable fares based on distance in other routes. The proposed changes could see the base fare increase from 230 yen to between 350 and 400 yen for tourists, while local residents would enjoy a fare of only 200 yen. However, there are legal constraints under Japan's Road Transport Law, which prohibits unfair discriminatory treatment of passengers, meaning the city has been in discussions with the Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry since Matsui's election in February 2024 to ensure compliance with these regulations.

Despite the new pricing structure, city officials have cautioned that it may not significantly alleviate congestion on buses. Instead, the focus is on easing local citizens' discontent regarding tourism by expecting tourists to bear more of the transportation costs. To further help address congestion issues, the city plans to encourage the use of dedicated express buses for tourists and promote the use of the subway system. Methods to distinguish residents from tourists may involve linking transportation IC cards with My Number Cards, with a proof-of-concept experiment recently conducted by the ministry to explore the feasibility of the priority pricing system.