Automated driving services in rural areas

Masahiro NishikawaDirector, ITS Policy and Program Office

Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT),

Government of Japan

INDEX

Challenges facing rural areas1.

Automated driving services

in rural areas

2.

Deployment of

automated driving services

based at Michi-no-Eki* “Kamikoani”

3.

＊roadside service station

Challenges facing rural areas

1

Rapid increase in senior citizens who cannot drive

Lack of home deliveries due to truck driver shortage

Total length of discontinued regular bus

routesTotal since 2007: 15,081 km

Comparison of aged population (2015)

Nationwide Hilly and mountainous areas

Less than age 30

Age 50

or

older

Age 40 - 49

Age 30 - 39

Challenges facing rural areas

0

200,000

400,000

600,000

H1

9

H2

0

H2

1

H2

2

H2

3

H2

4

H2

5

H2

6

H2

7

H2

8

H2

9

H3

0

Approx.

20,000

Approx.

400,000

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

2016 2017

07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

17 18

42%

31%

18%

9%

Automated driving services in rural areas

2

○ Expected to support transport of both people and goods, and further local revitalization.

○ A series of pilot projects with automated vehicles were initiated in 2017.

Clinic

MarketCity hallbranch office

Library

Community center (Michi-no-Eki)

Bus stop

Bus

Highway

City Hall

Station

AV

Meeting places

Farm

Nursing homes

Mobility in everyday life Door-to-door delivery service Collection of local products

Hamlet

Automated driving services in rural areas

AV : Automated driving Vehicle

Eighteen FOTs have been implemented in rural areas

Iinan-cho, Iishi-gun,

Shimane Prefecture

Ashikita-machi,

Kumamoto

Prefecture

Tatehata-cho, Higashi-Omi City,

Shiga Prefecture

Nishikata-machi, Tochigi

City, Tochigi Prefecture

Kamikoani Village,

Akita Prefecture

Takahata-machi,

Yamagata Prefecture

Hitachiota City,

Ibaraki Prefecture

Nanto City,

Toyama

Prefecture

Ina City,

Nagano Prefecture

Niimi City,

Okayama Prefecture

Miyoshi City,

Tokushima

Prefecture

Miyama City,

Fukuoka Prefecture

Nagaoka City,

Niigata Prefecture

Gujo City,

Gifu

Prefecture

Toyota City,

Aichi PrefectureOtsu City,

Shiga Prefecture

Ube City,

Yamaguchi Prefecture

Taiki-cho,

Hokkaido

FY2018～ ： 8

FY2017～2018 ：18

（ Short-term FOTs ）

（Long-term FOTs）

（Implementation service）

FY2019～ ： 1

Deployment of automated driving services based at Michi-no-Eki “Kamikoani” 3

Deployment of automated driving services based at Michi-no-Eki “Kamikoani”

November 30, 2019 Start of automated driving services

Developed by: Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd.

Capacity: Max. 7 occupants

Speed: Approx. 12km/h

No. of vehicles introduced: 1

Drivers: Local paid volunteers

Drivers are in vehicle during operation, but they only

monitor operation and do not operate the vehicle.

Electromagnetic

induction lines

＜Automated driving mechanism＞＜Vehicle＞

Electromagnetic induction lines are

embedded in the road to guide

vehicles.

Pickup and drop-off of citizens

Delivery of agricultural products, sundries

and other products.* etc.

Operatingentity

Operatingentity

Kamikoani Mobility Service Association

(NPO)

ScheduleRegular service:

AM : 1 trip , PM : 1 trip

On-demand service:

Periods between regular service and

on Saturdays and Sundays

Fare and delivery

fee

Fare: JPY 200 / trip

Delivery fee: JPY 200/delivery*

Routes 3 routes

* Start of product deliveries is currently being coordinated.

■AVs ■Driving routes

Deployment of automated driving services based at Michi-no-Eki “Kamikoani”

Analysis of usage from the start of full-scale operation through coronavirus crisis

○ Ridership had been increasing until week 17 before the state of emergency on Covid-19 was declared.

■

WeatherNo. of

users

Good11

people/day

Bad9

people/day

①Affected by weather

Source：Kamikoani Village(As of Dec.31, 2018)

Share of senior citizenin Kamikoani

Share of elderly riders

③Share of senior riders surpassedthat of village’s senior citizen.

②High demand for long-haul use

※Survey Period:Dec,1-July 4

Dogawa

Area

1077

40.1%Fukudate Area

102538.1%

Kosawada Area

58521.8% 1180

51.1%1131

48.9% Under 65

Over

65

619

55.0%

506

45.0%

5.5

9.1 9.4

12.3

9.6

17.2

15.115.9

17.6

12.6

5.7 5.96.9

8.4 8.3 8.69.4

8.2

10.2

0

5

10

15

20

1～2週 3～ 4週 5～6週 7～ 8週 9～ 10週 11～12週 13～14週 15～16週 17～18週 19～20週 21～22週 23～24週 25～26週 27～28週 29～30週 31～32週 33～34週 35～36週 37～38週

12/1( 日)～

12/14(土 )

12/15(日 )～

12/26(木 )

1/7( 火 )～

1/18( 土)

1/19( 日)～

2/1( 土 )

2/2( 日 )～

2/15( 土)

2/16( 日)～

2/29( 土)

3/1( 日 )～

3/14( 土)

3/15( 日)～

3/28( 土)

3/29( 日)～

4/11( 土)

4/12( 日)～

4/25( 土)

4/26( 日)～

5/9( 土 )

5/10( 日)～

5/23( 土)

5/24( 日)～

6/6( 土 )

6/7( 日 )～

6/20( 土)

6/21( 日)～

7/4( 土 )

7/5( 日 )～

7/18( 土)

7/19( 日)～

8/1( 土 )

8/2( 日 )～

8/15( 土)

8/16( 日)～

8/29( 土)

W1-2 W3-4 W5-6 W7-8 W9-10 W11-12 W13-14 W15-16 W17-18 W19-20 W21-22 W23-24 W25-26 W27-28 W29-30 W31-32 W33-34 W35-36 W37-38

Dec 1 Dec 15 Jan 7 Jan 19 Feb 2 Feb 16 Mar 1 Mar 15 Mar 29 Apr 12 Apr 26 May 10 May 24 Jun 7 Jun 21 Jul 5 Jul 19 Aug 2 Aug 16

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - --Dec 14 Dec 26 Jan 18 Feb 1 Feb 15 Feb 29 Mar 14 Mar 28 Apr 11 Apr 25 May 9 May 23 Jun 6 Jun 20 Jul 4 Jul 18 Aug 1 Aug15 Aug 29

Under

65Over

65

※Survey Period:Dec,1-Aug,29※Survey Period:Dec,1-Aug,29

Efforts to boost ridership

Cooperation with community

◀Local people gave nickname

and created

original sticker.

◀Tie-up with Michi-no-Eki

(Free ticket

for purchase

of JPY 1,000)

New route to meet local needs

▲Extended the existing route to the village’s sole convenience store to boost citizen’s convenience.

Cooperation with Michi-no-Eki

◀ Car barn and plug-in stand exclusive for this

vehicle were prepared in

the building next to Michi

no Eki for efficient

charging during standby.

Increase of on-demand service【Before】2 regular services per day

【After】Except 1 regurar service in the morning, operated as on-demand service for flexible response.

8：00

16：0016：00

Reg.Reg.

on-demand

Reg.

7：50

Reg.

12：0012：00

（Dec,18: total 9） （Feb. 26: total 30）

on-demand

Reg.

on-demand

on-demand

Dogawa route

on-demand

Dokawa

route

Dokawa route

Kosawada

route

Kosawada

route

○ Continuous improvement of service such as fare, timetable and route is under way to attract more passengers.

Thank you