Level 4 Autonomous Bus Service to Start in Tokyo

Tokyo, June 26 (Jiji Press)--General contractor Kajima Corp., Boldly Inc., a subsidiary of telecom carrier SoftBank Corp., and others said Wednesday that they have obtained permission to operate buses under so-called Level 4 autonomous driving, in which a system operates everything under certain conditions.

The planned self-driving bus service, which will be the first for the private sector in Japan, will be launched as early as July at Haneda Innovation City, a facility near Haneda Airport in Tokyo.

The Level 4 autonomous buses, carrying up to 10 passengers, will travel at a maximum speed of 12 kilometers per hour, looping around an 800-meter route. Operations will be monitored remotely from a facility in the town of Sakai, Ibaraki Prefecture.

Although Level 4 services are not required to have operators on board, the planned service will initially have one on board to guide passengers and handle any accidents.

On the Haneda Innovation City route, Level 2 autonomous buses with partially automated technology are in operation now.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]