Skip to main content

Toyota begins testing optimised urban transport system

Japanese motor manufacturer Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) has begun tests of Ha:mo, an optimised urban transportation system. The tests involve TMC and its collaborative allies such as the municipal government of Toyota city, Yamaha Motor, Aichi Loop Line, Nagoya Railroad, Aichi Rapid Transit, Meitetsu Kyosho, Chukyo University, Meitetsucom, Hitachi and Meitetsu Bus. Ha:mo is the name being given to TMC-developed systems that seek to provide user, town, and community-friendly transport support through the
October 3, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
Japanese motor manufacturer 1686 Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) has begun tests of Ha:mo, an optimised urban transportation system. The tests involve TMC and its collaborative allies such as the municipal government of Toyota city, Yamaha Motor, Aichi Loop Line, 6655 Nagoya Railroad, Aichi Rapid Transit, Meitetsu Kyosho, Chukyo University, Meitetsucom, 2213 Hitachi and Meitetsu Bus.

Ha:mo is the name being given to TMC-developed systems that seek to provide user, town, and community-friendly transport support through the effective use of public transportation in combination with motor vehicles and other forms of personal mobility.   Ha:mo, which comprises, Ha:mo Ride and Ha:mo Navi will select the optimal means of transport for users based on the operational status of public transport systems and traffic conditions.

Ha:mo Ride will focus on optimal means of using public transportation and vehicles for a travel of a few kilometres linking a user's destination and a train station via the sharing of ultra-compact single user electric vehicles (EVs). Ha:mo Ride is also a part of EDMS trials for effective vehicle-battery use.

Ha:mo Navi uses forecasts of transportation supply and demand to provide transportation alternatives and encourage the use of optimal transport methods, and also links cars and independently operated public transportation. Three services will run under Ha:mo Navi: park-and-ride facility; multi-modal route guide that will help smartphone searches for optimal merger of multiple transport methods like taxis, trains, cars and buses; and park-and-ride information.

Ha:mo Navi's route information is to be merged with Ha:mo Ride's EV sharing information in due course, to provide access to travel history and integrated route data.

Vehicle-sharing stations are to be installed at four locations within Toyota City, providing a car-sharing service using ultra-compact single-occupant electric vehicles (EVs) manufactured by Toyota.  These will be increased to a range of 10 to 20 stations due to plans to enlarge the service coverage in central Toyota City. Simultaneously, Ha:mo will be turned into a fee-specific service once the service coverage is extended to also include around 1,000 members and 100 vehicles.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Volvo and KPMG find buses are key to urban air quality
    September 13, 2016
    Buses can play a key role in the battle to improve air quality in towns and cities as David Crawford discovers. A city with a population of half a million would gain about US$12.3 million in annualised societal savings if all its buses ran on electricity instead of diesel. This is the conclusion of a wide-ranging analysis carried out by Swedish bus manufacturer Volvo Group and global business consultants KPMG.
  • Mcity test centre for connected and driverless vehicles now open
    July 21, 2015
    The University of Michigan has opened Mcity, the world's first controlled environment specifically designed to test the potential of connected and automated vehicle technologies that will lead the way to mass-market driverless cars. Mcity was designed and developed by U-M's interdisciplinary MTC, in partnership with the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT). The 32-acre simulated urban and suburban environment includes a network of roads with intersections, traffic signs and signals, streetligh
  • Singapore plans changes to transit system
    June 13, 2018
    Singapore has the third-highest population density in the world and the numbers are continuing to grow. The government knows that transit is vital: David Crawford investigates the city state’s Smart Nation strategy. Transport is the most important of the five domains identified as the pillars of Singapore's far-reaching Smart Nation strategy, launched in November 2014 by prime minister Lee Hsien Loong with the aim of reaching fulfilment by 2024. Roads account for 12% of the island republic's 719km2 land ar
  • LAMetro and Via launch ride-sharing service at three metro stations
    February 8, 2019
    The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LAMetro) has partnered with Via to offer a ride-sharing service to and from three metro stations. The one-year pilot, supported by a $1.3 million grant from the Federal Transit Administration, is being trialled at Artesia, El Monte and North Hollywood. Daniel Ramot, CEO and co-founder of Via, says the company’s passenger matching and vehicle routing algorithm will connect customers with the three transit hubs in their communities. Rid