Autonomous taxi trials carrying passengers begin in Tokyo

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A venture firm and a major taxi company began trials of passenger-carrying autonomous taxi services on Monday with an eye on launching the full service around 2020 when Tokyo hosts the Olympics and the Paralympics.

ZMP Inc., a Tokyo-based developer of autonomous driving technology, and Hinomaru Kotsu Co., said they are the first in the world to offer autonomous taxi services to fare-paying passengers in the test through Sept. 8.

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The initiative comes as automakers and other businesses at home and abroad compete in the development of autonomous vehicles. General Motors Co. and Waymo, a spinoff of tech giant Google, have started tests on public roads in the United States, while Nissan Motor Co. and DeNA Co. conducted tests on a ride-hailing service in Yokohama in March.

In the passenger trial by ZMP and Hinomaru, a minivan equipped with sensors and other autonomous technologies makes four round trips a day between commercial facilities in Tokyo’s Otemachi and Roppongi districts, which are about 5.3 kilometers apart.

The autonomous technology will start, stop and turn the vehicle, but a driver and an assistant will be on board to ensure safety. Passengers solicited in advance will unlock the door and make payments through a smartphone app, paying ¥1,500 (about $13) for a one-way ride.

A 45-year-old male passenger from Toshima Ward, Tokyo, who got on the first autonomous taxi Monday morning said, “It was such a natural ride that I almost forgot it was a self-driving car. I felt the advancement of technology.”

In a ceremony marking the trial, Hinomaru Kotsu President Kazutaka Tomita said, “We can take a precious step forward (for autonomous driving) today.”

Autonomous driving services are viewed as a way to address the shortage of drivers in Tokyo and the increasing demand for taxis by foreign visitors to Japan.

There are also high hopes for self-driving taxis in rural areas, where taxi companies face serious labor shortages, according to experts.

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