Autonomous Taxis Set for Tokyo Debut in 2027

Tokyo, Sept. 15 (Jiji Press)--Go Inc., operator of a taxi-hailing app, Waymo LLC and Nihon Kotsu Co. said Tuesday that they will jointly launch driverless taxi services in Tokyo in 2027, marking Japan's first such commercial service.

The service would use Level 4 autonomous driving, under which a system handles all driving operations under specified conditions. The companies plan to expand the fleet to about 100 vehicles gradually.

Waymo, a unit of U.S. technology giant Alphabet Inc., will provide autonomous driving technology, while Nihon Kotsu, a Tokyo taxi operator, will oversee operations and manage the service's taxi depots. The service would be available through the Go and Waymo apps.

The three companies agreed on the partnership after conducting road tests of self-driving vehicles in Tokyo.

Ichiro Kawanabe, chairman of Go and chairman of the Japan Federation of Hire-Taxi Associations, said at a press conference in Tokyo that autonomous taxis would help reduce traffic accidents and address labor shortages.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]