The “Shizuoka City Share Cycle Project PULCLE” by the Shimizu S-Pulse has received the 2021 J. LEAGUE SHAREN! Awards・Public Award. “Share Cycle of a bicycle” may sound like a simple structure, but why did a J club and a community end up working together? What value does this project with the Shimizu S-Pulse bring to the community? In order to dissect the attractiveness of this project, we sat down with local government workers that works daily with the community and also the staff of the club and others who supported to make this happen.

Speaker
TOKAI Cable Network Co., Ltd. Sales Planning Department Takashi Yamauchi
Shizuoka Salesio Integrated Mission School Kunihiko Yamada
Shimizu S-Pulse Yosuke Fukasawa・Tsuyoshi Murakoshi・Shiori Suzuki・Junpei Takaki

Listener/Writer
Makoto Oishi（Shizuoka City Office）
※ This interview article has been taken in charge by “Online Council” where the faithful local government workers gather (Operated by General incorporated association Yonnana Kai).

■Activities of Team PULCLE; A city filled with orange “S-Pulse being part of the daily lives for people in Shizuoka.”

In March of 2020, in order to make better use of the characteristics of Shizuoka city, a plan to enforce use of bicycles in Shizuoka City has been decided. By forming a new public-private partnership for a new share cycle business, it will officially become the first J club share cycle business with the hope in contributing to the community with utilization of bicycle.

The name of this project, “PULCLE” comes from the combination of Pulse in S-Pulse and Cycle from bicycle. The logo of this project pictures the S-Pulse mascot PAL-chan riding a bicycle. This share bicycle business may be a new platform for the community.  

In this project S-Pulse has allowed the use of the mascot and original font on their logo, and also the team colors which led to a big part of branding. Also, the project was introduced on the club’s official website, social media and the announcement of campaigns, and PR was conducted in booths on-site during home games. 

The project officially started around June of 2020. It was during a time when the whole country was shaken after the State of Emergency and people were trying to figure out their new lifestyle. It garnered a strong interest being a way to get around and considering social distance at the same time. Riding a bicycle also led to solving the issue in lack of exercises and many media covered this project being the first official share cycle by a J club.

In six months around May of 2021, it grew to 90 stations and 270 bicycles from the previous 39 stations and 94 bicycles. Some of the feedbacks from supporters were

“I use it to commute to work.”
“It’s very convenient compared to cars when running an errand. “
“I was able to find places I would have never noticed driving.”

It ended up being a service which fulfills the needs of the citizens for daily use as about 77% of the users utilized it for less than thirty minutes.

October of 2020, we worked together with Shizuoka Salesio High School Kusanagi Future Center, in order to create a buzz about “PULCLE” among high school kids.

Mr. Kunihiko Yamada from Shizuoka Salesio High School mentioned, “Our view at Shizuoka Salesio High School is that education does not complete just inside the school. We emphasize students to go out in the society to learn about things they cannot learn at school. We have been saying that the work with “PULCLE” will be a great learning opportunity as we usually work with the community thinking about the urban development of Kusanagi and the social issues with a future oriented outlook.

In this partnership, the students worked for about six months to come up with ideas to create a buzz surrounding “PULCLE.”  Around March of 2021, six plans were suggested and they are working toward implementing those ideas in this project.

Also, for some of the station sites for “PULCLE,” local companies that have agreed to this project has provided the space for free.  For daily cleaning and maintenance, we have requested this to a non-profit organization and four inner-city offices of welfare service for people with disabilities have agreed to assist. “Team PULCLE” has been creating a partnership within the community to conduct this project.

■Shizuoka, a city of bicycles. Building the infrastructure with the power of community 

According to Mr. Matsuoka from Shizuoka City’s City Planning Department Transportation Policy Division, the reasoning behind working on this project is that “Shizuoka city is a place with a lot of bicycles.” However, comparing to cities in Netherlands and Belgium where there are a lot of bicycles, the usage has not progressed much in Shizuoka. After looking at examples in other cities and conducting multiple research we have decided to start this project from June of 2020.

The decision was made to work with a private company called TOKAI Cable Network. It has its headquarters in Shizuoka and raised its hand to apply to be in charge of the operation. TOKAI Cable Network has been operating their business with two axis, in broadcasting and telecommunications. Within Shizuoka prefecture, the company owns a high number of shares in those categories.

When considering a pillar for the new project, the keyword that came up was “MaaS（Mobility as a Service）”  and along those lines, the proposal toward participating in Shizuoka city’s share cycle project came up.

Mr. Yamauchi from TOKAI Cable Network that have directed this project gives his thoughts. “We local companies would like to operate the infrastructure in the community.”

“We have heard that a company in Tokyo is being considered to operate this project. However, we felt that local companies should be the one operating these projects, which can be a platform for the community. As we have been doing business trying to build the roots in the community, we felt it’s a challenge that we should be taking.” (Mr. Yamauchi)

Also, the reason behind reaching out to Shimizu S-Pulse was due to the fact that it would be well accepted to the citizens of Shizuoka city.

“Share cycle is a new concept for this community. We felt that bringing in this new concept with a new brand is going to be difficult for the users to accept.  With this becoming a new project, we felt the need in bringing in a partner which everybody is familiar with, and S-Pulse was the first one that came up to mind.” (Mr. Yamauchi)

There is no guarantee that people would take part just because a new project has started. When you think about how high the hurdle is mentally to take part in something new, maybe the only partner that was suitable for this from the get-go was Shimizu S-Pulse with its familiarity with the community and the citizens.

■Don’t try to find the reason why it’s impossible and try to find ways to make it possible.

For Shimizu S-Pulse the inconvenience of the transportation system was always an issue. The clubhouse and practice grounds of the Shimizu S-Pulse is located in Miho district, where the Mt. Fuji World Cultural Heritage Constituent Asset Miho Matsubara is located.  However, the access from Shimizu station is not that great. The access to IAI Stadium Nihon Daira has been a long withstanding issue. When the opportunity came up to partner as a brand, Mr. Takaki from the PR department of Shimizu S-Pulse mentioned that he felt it was a project they would like to join immediately.

“If we use the share cycle, it can lead to a resolution of the inconvenience of the public transportation. It may lead to creating more visitors and exchange population within the community. Also, this was a grateful project from a PR perspective. In 2020 we rebranded with a new club emblem and a logo color, so we were looking for ways to increase the awareness. Implementing the logo and the newly established mascot PAL chan with the share cycle, we felt the ripple effect is significant in reaching people. When we imagined bicycles running around the city with PAL chan logo on them, that was an exciting scenery for us and felt it would be an opportunity for people to become familiar with S-Pulse.” (Mr. Takaki)

However, when Mr. Murakoshi, who is in charge of the branding promotion department of the Shimizu S-Pulse first heard about the proposal he honestly felt this was difficult to make it happen.

“This share cycle project is a business conducted by the city. As there are several professional sports teams in Shizuoka city, we felt it’s going to be hard for the city to concentrate on just the S-Pulse and our mascot PAL chan. I was sort of giving up on the possibility.”（Mr. Murakoshi）

In point of fact, there were discussions within Shizuoka City. However, what became a push was the fact that the S-Pulse and the city previously worked together on a different project. Since 2016, S-Pulse and Shizuoka City has been working together on “COOL CHOICE Awareness-Raising Activities.” “COOL CHOICE” is a project to encourage low-carbon products, services, and lifestyles to achieve the goal of reducing the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions.  

The share cycle project reflected to this as well. It was a project where sports can be a source in solving the issues in our society such as eco, reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, promotion of health and the decision was made for Shimizu S-Pulse to be able to join.

It was made possible due to the relationship that Shizuoka city and Shimizu S-Pulse have built previously and that this was not a project that have started from zero. Also it was a result of everyone involved looking for ways to make this possible instead of trying to find a reason not to do it.

■New ways to utilize a J club

With the launch of “PULCLE,” what kind of value did it provide to the community and the club.

“In the meaning of making a change, we were able to show an example of a new way to utilize a J. League club to those who may be interested in working with the S-Pulse. We feel that J. League clubs from now on can work along in different ways and not just concentrate on soccer. We also feel this is a great example of a license business. It was a win-win business for all that was involved in the club, TOKAI, local government and the school.”（Mr. Takaki）

It’s not about just soccer players participating in sports clinics, and the players to be used as characters but the club’s brand should be considered more for collaboration. That should be the new way to utilize.

“In regards of new ways to utilize a J. League club, we received an offer from the police after seeing our “PULCLE”, that they would like to work together on filming an awareness learning video for traffic safety. The suggestion was for PAL chan to ride on a “PULCLE” and take a video going over bicycle rules which will be played at the police department. We feel this will be an opportunity for people to think about new ideas using a new share cycle platform in “PULCLE.” (Mr. Yamauchi)

As the circle continues to the grow there are many opportunities for new businesses to be born from this as well.

Also Mr. Yamauchi suggests a new way to form a business partnership as well.

“When simply explaining about this project it’s about asking, “Do you want to include your name in this new platform based in Shizuoka? No fee needed, but please promote this as much as possible in compensation.” The base of the idea is for each to provide your own resources.  It’s a new way of forming a business partnership by providing your own resources and making that the basis of the project.

Everybody dismissed the possibility at first, but I really wanted to make this happen. As we all put our brains toward this, we were able to feel that if we do not give up, we will eventually come up with a way to make it happen. It was really difficult in making adjustment within the company and through all of the interested parties. There are still difficulties on-site, but what I learned the most was that if you don’t give up, there are many opportunities to challenge to create interesting things.” (Mr. Yamauchi)

Mr. Matsuoka from Shizuoka city mentions that by working along with “PULCLE” he would like to solve the issues of raising awareness toward transportation rules to the younger generation. He would like to continue sending important messages along with Shimizu S-Pulse.

“We have been doing some kind of activities to raise awareness, but whether those messages are getting across or not is another question. Whether those points are being put into action or not has been the long withstanding issue for the government. Through our project with S-Pulse, we would like to deliver the message on PAL chan’s back and connect to a wide range of age group within our citizens. When that happens, we feel there will be a significant value born from this project.” (Mr. Matsuoka)  

We may be able to find a clue in solving the issue of “Raising awareness of Public Transportation’s Rules” to citizen of Shizuoka using the familiar Shimizu S-Pulse and PAL chan.  

For Shimizu S-Pulse, it can lead to increasing the “S-Pulse Family” not just with the fans attending the games, but who is supporting the club in their daily lives.

We hope to hear some feedbacks outside the stadiums and in our daily lives like,

“We are glad that S-Pulse is home to this city”

“This share cycle project was able to be in shape because S-Pulse was in this town”

■Turning our city orange.  Scenery of Shimizu S-Pulse being part of our daily life

Going forward Shizuoka city aims to have 300 “PULCLE” stations and 600 bicycles available by 2023. Also, it hopes to expand the business by creating a public transportation safety video using ‘PULCLE,” a sightseeing tour, health program, and providing it to people who is seeking to make a move here which may solve issues of abandoned houses. A future can be illustrated where Shimizu S-Pulse can be a bigger part of the daily life in the community with “PULCLE.”

Mr. Suzuki who works in the hometown sales department for the Shimizu S-Pulse mentions that they are motivated to plan on projects that can collaborate with the game itself and local tourism.

“We will experiment on a “PULCLE” purpose temporarily parking lot at the stadium. Since Nihon Daira Stadium does not have the best access, we hope “PULCLE” can be an option for the fans, and we would like to create more activities related to it. “This type of project defines SHAREN!” and can be a way for us to suggest to new partners. We feel this will expand our possibilities.” (Mr. Suzuki)

Centering around the existence of the club, city can be energized. As the population of the city grows, the club will gain momentum as well. As the color orange will be used in the banner-flag of “PULCLE and the bicycles itself, it leads to the city becoming more and more orange. That’s the expectation we have toward this project and really excited for it.

Also, Mr. Yamauchi is thinking of expanding the framework of a bicycle rental business and extending to different areas with “PULCLE” being the point of origin.

The possibility of “PULCLE is not just limited to a simple bicycle rental business. Already within Shizuoka city there is a little bit over ten thousand users and it can be a new platform. For example, by analyzing the GPS driving data installed in the PULCLE, we can think of ways of utilizing the activities history and added value in developing the city. By continuing the business, our next goal is to make a structure to create an even bigger value.” (Mr. Yamauchi) 

Lastly, Mr. Takaki shared his passion toward this project.

“We want people to feel the merit of having a club in your hometown.  In order for people to have that feeling, S-Pulse is always thinking where we can collaborate with. The important thing is to always keep the line of communication open and continue to discuss together on the issues of “PULCLE” and how we can solve the issues of Shizuoka city. If we can take part in it, we want everybody to use the S-Pulse as much as they can!” (Mr. Takaki)

Interview Postscript

Before the interview, I wasn’t sure what the difference between “PULCLE” and any other share cycle business that we see around the nation. Through the interview I was able to understand that this was not a business that was just renting bicycles. This was a project that would’ve not been possible without a J. LEAGUE club in the first place. It also would not have been like this if it wasn’t for a company that brings the same perspective as a citizen in trying to solve the issues in the community. As a result, we predict that this will be a project that will have a high affinity to the citizens and will continue to spread throughout the community.

“By dismissing the mindset of impossible, each and everyone involved used their strength in order to solve the issues in the community. It may sound simple when you put it into words, but I feel there was a lot of process in actually making this possible.

S-Pulse mentioned that they were able to show a new way in utilizing a J club through “PULCLE,” but I feel it also resulted in giving a hint to the citizens and companies in the community for new ways to be involved with a J club. I am looking forward to seeing more and more partners that will work with S-Pulse in solving issues within the communities.