TheJakartaPost

Please Update your browser

Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.

Jakarta Post

Tokyo airport tests driverless bus to shuttle visitors

Visitors pouring into Japan's Haneda airport for the Tokyo Olympics next year may find themselves ferried to and from planes on driverless buses.

  (Agence France-Presse)
Tokyo, Japan
Wed, January 23, 2019

Share This Article

Change Size

Tokyo airport tests driverless bus to shuttle visitors Journalists look at a driverless bus during an open test drive demonstration at Tokyo's Haneda International Airport on January 22, 2019. (AFP/Toshifumi Kitamura)

V

isitors pouring into Japan's Haneda airport for the Tokyo Olympics next year may find themselves ferried to and from planes on driverless buses, currently being tested at the major hub.

Six Japanese firms, including national carrier ANA, jointly started a 10-day experiment with a self-driving prototype minibus last week.

On Tuesday, officials allowed a sneak peak at the automated transportation, which is being tested with a safety driver in the front seat.

The "driver" sat with his white-gloved hands hovering above the wheel, ready to take control if need be, but otherwise allowing the bus to wend the route on its own.

"Our hope is to be able to offer users autonomous buses by the Tokyo 2020 Olympics," said ANA project chief Tadakatsu Yamaguchi.

Read also: The airport of the future is here. And it doesn’t need humans

The vehicle holds a maximum of 10 people and cruises along a route connecting two terminals at a speed of up to 30 kilometers per hour using GPS and magnetic markers on the road.

Project officials did not immediately detail the cost of the system or how many people they expect to eventually transport with the buses.

Japan is hoping the 2020 Games will be a chance to showcase cutting edge tech projects in the country, but autonomous transport is also an important sector for a nation suffering labor shortages and a shrinking, ageing population.

"The decline in the population puts us at risk of no longer being able to carry out operations and that is why we are now pushing to introduce new autonomous mobility technologies so we can guarantee good operations with less staff," said Yamaguchi.

{

Your Opinion Matters

Share your experiences, suggestions, and any issues you've encountered on The Jakarta Post. We're here to listen.

Enter at least 30 characters
0 / 30

Thank You

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. We appreciate your feedback.