Front-door boarding

A method in which you get on through the front door and pay your fare as you board. It is used widely on flat-fare buses, including Toei Bus routes inside Tokyo's 23 wards. When you get off, you simply step out through the middle or rear door.

What front-door boarding is

Front-door boarding means getting on through the door at the front of the bus. Because the farebox sits right beside the driver's seat, the basic form pairs it with paying up front, settling the fare at the same moment you board. Drop cash into the farebox as you get on, or tap a transit IC card on the reader, and the payment is complete; when your stop comes you step out through the middle or rear door.

What makes this possible is the flat fare, the same amount to pay whatever the distance. If the price is identical however far you ride, the fare can be fixed at the moment you board. Toei Bus routes inside Tokyo's 23 wards, along with most local buses in the central parts of the city, use this front-door, pay-as-you-board arrangement.

How boarding works

Boarding a front-door bus comes down to three beats.

When the bus has stopped, get on through the front door.
Pay at the farebox right beside you. One tap for an IC card; in cash, drop in the fare.
Move along to a free seat. To get off, press the stop request button and leave by the middle or rear door.

Since the payment was finished at the boarding door, getting off is nothing more than stepping out. Even on a day with both hands full of bags, there is no worry about fumbling as you leave. If you are paying cash, having the coins ready in your hand before you board keeps the flow unbroken and makes boarding smooth on a rainy day or when you are loaded with shopping. Our guide to riding Toei buses sets out the procedure in full.

How it differs from rear-door boarding

The counterpart to front-door boarding is rear-door boarding. You get on through the middle or rear door and pay at the front door as you get off, so it goes together with paying afterwards. It is the method used on routes where the fare changes with distance: as you board you either take a numbered boarding ticket or tap an IC card to record where you got on, and the fare is settled when you get off.

Which door you use and when you pay, in other words, are decided as a set with the fare system on that route. Remember it as: a bus you board at the front is one you pay as you get on, a bus you board at the rear is one you pay as you get off, and you will not go far wrong even in a place you have never been. Once the doors open you can also check on the spot, by watching which way the people around you move and reading the notice beside the door on the side of the bus.