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TOKYO (Kyodo) – A joint venture created by Toyota Motor Corp. and SoftBank Corp. announced Monday that she was going to launch a carpool test service for business commuters using a smartphone app next week in Tokyo.
The Autonomous Vehicle Services Company called Monet Technologies Inc. will provide service to customers traveling to the Marunouchi Business District in central Tokyo from February 26 to March 22 to collect data for future services. of vehicles.
Customers must enter the places of departure and destination on the smartphone application to use the service. A minivan can carry up to four pbadengers traveling to nearby destinations.
A similar service will also be offered during the same period to parents working in the area to drop off their children in crèches, said Monet. SoftBank holds a 50.25% stake in the company, the rest being owned by Toyota.
Monet announced separately that he would join 17 municipalities, including Yokohama, near Tokyo, and Nagoya, in central Japan, to offer carpool services.
In Japan, ridesharing services are only available in limited areas, partly because of regulatory obstacles.
Toyota aims to launch stand-alone vehicle services in 2020. The automaker hopes to use these vehicles in the future for its activities in restaurants, convenience stores and offices.
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