Konnichiwa: Japan to soon have self-driving taxis rule over Tokyo roads

Imagine landing at either the Narita or the Haneda airport in Tokyo, stepping out of the building and being welcomed by a taxi that has no driver inside. Sounds a bit like a sci-fi movie? Perhaps but it will soon be a reality in the capital city of Japan where Honda and General Motors Co. are working on developing autonomous cabs capable of independently navigating the roads without the need for any human input.

Honda Motor Co. is working with GM and its subsidiary Cruise LLC to develop self-drive or autonomous vehicles that may eventually render human taxi drivers jobless. Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe is confident of such vehicles becoming a common sight in Tokyo in the times to come.

The plan envisions as many as 500 self-drive cabs in central Tokyo from early 2026 before gradually moving to operations in other parts of the city as well. Each vehicle - a boxy van - will have a seating capacity of six passengers and will be without a dedicated driver's seat or a steering wheel. After all, why bother with these when there is no real person controlling the vehicle at all?

In a country where there is a shortage of cab drivers, such a profound development in autonomous driving technology could, in fact, come as a boon rather than a bane. It is reported that around 10,000 cab drivers opted for other jobs in the country during the pandemic period and that this potential crisis can be addressed by cabs that can drive themselves.

The flight of autonomous vehicles

Japan currently has just one town which allows for Level 4 autonomous driving which means a relevant vehicle can manage operations on its own but will still need a human in the driver's seat and would be required to take over control when required. But that's just in one town and only in a radius of 2 kms with a top speed of 12 kmph.

As such, Japan is still some distance behind countries like the US and China where autonomous drive technology is being developed at a quick pace and mostly limited only by regulatory and safety considerations. Japan is also a small-car market which means that affordability and size are key considerations among many buyers. Autonomous technology is more than likely to bump up purchase costs as well as be incorporated into larger vehicles.

(With inputs from Bloomberg)

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