Toyota's Latest Trial in Tokyo Will Help Develop Smart Mobility

Come April, and people in Tokyo will get a chance to drive a 3-wheeled emissions-free personal mobility vehicle - the Toyota i-Road - around town. The Japanese auto giant will enter the ultra-compact vehicle in a new car-sharing programme as part of a co-ordinated public transport scheme. A similar scheme is already in place in Grenoble, France, and Toyota City.

Under this trial, the i-Road will be paired with the Park24's Times Car Plus service that allows members to make use of a fleet of share-cars at any time of day. Elements from Toyota's Ha:mo urban transport template will also be incorporated in this trial.

This trial in Tokyo will last for a total of 6 month i.e. until the end of September. Data and feedback collected from the trial will then be employed to evaluate the ease of using the vehicle along with changes in user activity patterns and the public's response.

With a maximum usage period of two-and-a-half hours, users will be charged 412 yen (about Rs 214) per 15 minutes for the service. Interested folks will be required to pick up the vehicle from the Times Station at the Yurakucho ITOCiA shopping centre and can return them to any of 5 central locations.