Driverless taxi debuts in Tokyo with car full of passengers
Updated : 21:15
A self-driving taxi has successfully taken passengers through Tokyo in the first public test for autonomous vehicles.
The RoboCar MiniVan test started early on Tuesday and has had customers pay for the service.
ZMP, the developer of this autonomous driving technology, and the taxi company Hinomaru Kotsu, said the tests that started this week are the first in the world to involve driverless taxis and fare-paying passengers.
In the test, the van made four round-trips a day on a busy 5.3km stretch of one of the city’s roads. Passengers would unlock the door themselves and pay their one-way fare via app.
The experiment will continue all throughout September.
It is hoped that the technology will be ready to service by the time athletes and tourists arrive in the city for the 2020 Summer Olympics.
The authorities expect that by 2030 every fifth car on the Japanese roads will travel at least partially without the driver.
The news of the Tokyo tests comes as Japanese carmaker Toyota announced it would be investing $500m in Uber to develop a program of self-driving Toyota vehicles that would be used by the ride-hailing firm.