Nov 13 (Japan Times) - East Japan Railway Co. (JR East) said Tuesday that it will run a reward point program for a year from next spring to further promote staggered commuting.
The railway operator will give points to passengers who use a commuter pass stored on a Suica e-money card in off-peak hours on weekday mornings. Travel on all of JR East's train lines in the Tokyo metropolitan area except shinkansen will be eligible for the reward program.
At a time when many workers are already adopting teleworking amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the company is seeking to further reduce peak commuter crowding during morning hours.
Users of the program will need to register their Suica commuter passes with the JRE Point service in order to receive the points. It will be possible to use the points, which will be credited as users pass through ticket gates to ride trains before and after the morning rush hour, to pay for train travel as well as purchases at shops inside station buildings and JR East's online stores.
