Tokyo, Aug 18: Japanese auto giant Toyota Motor Corp. is urging the 28,000 employees at its headquarters in central Japan to make a mental gear switch and stop driving to work because they are causing a daily traffic jam. "It may seem like a contradiction, but if you think about the problems we are causing to the community around us, it can't be helped," said Toyota spokeswoman Monika Fujita.
"It's also quite meaningless to drive in a traffic jam," she said.
Every weekday morning, a two to three kilometre traffic jam -- which takes about an hour to clear -- builds up in front of Toyota headquarters in Toyota city, Aichi prefecture, some 250 kilometres east of Tokyo, she said.
Since February, Toyota has provided a free bus shuttle service from two nearby train stations. By July, the number of workers taking public transit to work had risen to 5,000 from 3,000, she said.
One 43-year-old company employee told the Asahi newspaper he sold the car he once used to drive to the office. "It might be a minus for the company. But now I can use the time spent commuting for myself." Bureau Report