Toyota is cooperating with the Toyota City municipal government, transport companies and others to test an optimised urban transportation system called ‘Ha:mo’. The system will select optimal means of transport for users based on the operational status of public transport systems and traffic conditions. Vehicle-sharing stations are to be installed at four locations within Toyota City, providing a car-sharing service using the COMS ultra-compact single-occupant electric vehicles (EVs) manufactured by Toyota Auto Body.
The term Ha:mo, short for ‘harmonious mobility’, is being given to Toyota-developed systems that seek to provide user-, town-, and community-friendly transport support through the effective use of public transport in combination with motor vehicles and other forms of personal mobility. The system for the tests comprises two elements: Ha:mo Navi, which links individual users, transportation system operators and communities to enable searches for seamless but low-emission transport routes, and Ha:mo Ride, an ultra-compact EV sharing service designed to accommodate short-distance travel in urban areas.
Ha:mo Navi provides transportation alternatives and encourages use of optimal transport methods based on forecasts of transportation supply and demand, and also links independently operated public transportation and cars. The following Ha:mo Navi services will begin this month:
1. multi-modal route guide for smartphones that searches for the optimal combination of multiple modes of transport – such as trains, buses, cars and taxis – while taking account of traffic congestion;
2. provision of park-and-ride facility information (such as parking space availability) when personal vehicle use is included in a search;
3. provision of ‘eco-points’ based on park-and-ride facility and public transport use.
In the near future, the route information provided by Ha:mo Navi will be combined with the EV sharing information provided by Ha:mo Ride to give users access to integrated route information, travel-history-based recommendations and such information as to encourage dynamic and flexible operation of services by bus and other Ha:mo Ride operators. In addition, collaboration with the energy data management system (EDMS) pilot programme under way in Toyota City will aim to lower overall transport system energy use. The collaboration will include route calculations that consider the battery status of the plug-in hybrid vehicles participating in the project, as well as regional electric power demand.
Ha:mo Ride will seek to support the optimal use of vehicle and public transport for short-distance (within a few kilometres) travel from a train station to the user’s destination through the sharing of COMS ultra-compact EVs. The initiative is also a part of EDMS trials for effective vehicle-battery use.
From October 2012, unmanned vehicle-sharing stations will be established at four locations in Toyota City: two at Chukyo University and one each at Josui Station on the Nagoya Railroad and Kaizu Station on the Aichi Loop Line. A one-way car-sharing service will run among the vehicle stations with 10 COMS EVs. The service will initially be available to approximately 100 members comprising Chukyo University students and employees, who will use smartphones for vehicle reservations and IC cards for vehicle access. To promote wide and regular use, there will be no charge for the first year of service.
Plans call for the service area to be extended throughout central Toyota City, with the number of stations to be increased to between 10 and 20, the number of vehicles to approximately 100, and the number of members to approximately 1,000. At that point, Ha:mo is planned to change to a fee-based service. The possible inclusion of Yamaha electric commuter bikes and electrically power assisted bicycles in the system is also being considered. Toyota also plans to promote off-peak power use through the management of vehicle charging.
The Ha:mo tests were selected as part of the Next-Generation Energy and Social System Demonstration Projects sponsored by Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and are being conducted under the umbrella of the Toyota City Low-Carbon Verification Project.
