Launch of "Survey project for demonstration and implementation of autonomous driving in Minamisatsuma City"

Minamisatsuma City (Mayor: Motobo Teruo), Macnica (Representative Director and President: Hara Kazumasa, hereinafter Macnica), and Nippon Telegraph and Telephone West Corporation Kagoshima Branch (Branch Manager: Uryu Masashi, hereinafter NTT West) applied for and were selected for the FY2024 "Regional Public Transportation Assurance, Maintenance and Improvement Project Subsidy (autonomous driving Social Implementation Promotion Project, hereinafter referred to as "this Project")".
In order to solve local issues such as "ensuring sustainable public transportation for local residents" in Minamisatsuma City, we will be conducting a "Research project for the demonstration and implementation of autonomous driving in Minamisatsuma City" from Saturday, December 14, 2024 to Friday, December 27, 2024.

1. Background and Objectives
Social issues such as maintaining regional transportation and driver shortages in transportation are becoming more serious due to labor shortages caused by the declining birthrate and aging population, as well as the 2024 problem. To solve these social issues, there is an urgent need to realize sustainable public transportation and logistics using mobility technologies such as autonomous driving. The government has set a goal of more than 50 locations by fiscal year 2025 and more than 100 locations by fiscal year 2027, and is working toward this goal.

Minamisatsuma City is working to maintain and secure a transportation system that is convenient for its residents, but the aging of the workforce and the shortage of workers are becoming serious issues even among the community bus operators, making it difficult to maintain the system. In response to changes in social structure due to population decline and an aging society, major issues include "maintaining and securing sustainable public transportation" and "ensuring transportation for tourists" in order to further revitalize the local community.

In response to these regional issues, we will utilize autonomous driving, a technology of the future, to ensure sustainable public transportation, as well as to create new industries in the future and promote coexistence and prosperity with existing industries, thereby enhancing the appeal of the region. In this way, while addressing various issues, we aim to increase future population inflow and secure jobs, promote the creation of a sustainable and lively town, and aim to realize Minamisatsuma, a place where people want to live, work, and visit, and where everyone can play a leading role.

2. Overview of the survey project
In preparation for the future social implementation of Level 4 autonomous driving, this project will verify autonomous driving will change the lives of people with mobility restrictions and whether it meets the needs of users by driving vehicles on routes that run from urban areas through facilities essential to daily life, such as hospitals.

(1) Demonstration period
From Saturday, December 14, 2024 to Friday, December 27, 2024
(2) Location
Minamisatsuma City, Kagoshima Prefecture (Figure 1)
(3) Vehicles and autonomous driving technology used (Figure 2)
・Navya Mobility "EVO"
・Supports Level 4 autonomous driving
- Passenger capacity: 12 people (10 people during demonstration experiment)
Speed: 19 km/h
・EV (maximum driving time 9 hours, driving distance 100 km)

[Figure 1. Demonstration driving route]
The route starts in front of Minamisatsuma City Hall, passes in front of Kiyatamonse Minamisatsuma, next to Yamada Denki in Iroha Town Kaseda, in front of Kamizono Park, and ends at the Marimba Pharmacy parking lot.

[Figure 2. Image of autonomous driving EV bus]

3. Roles of each company
(1) Minamisatsuma City
Provision of autonomous driving business operators, driving routes, parking areas, charging areas, etc.
(2) Macnica
Provision of autonomous driving electric buses and remote monitoring systems,
autonomous driving EV bus engineering and support, operation system construction, etc.
(3) NTT West
Project management, overall requirements and configuration review, field verification planning and coordination, report proofreading, etc.

4. Future developments
Based on the results of this project, we aim to realize the social implementation (Level 4) of autonomous driving vehicles in fiscal 2026, and will continue to conduct demonstration studies and work to resolve various issues, such as building the operational system necessary for providing autonomous driving services.
Through these efforts, we aim to realize a safe and comfortable autonomous driving service that can be used with peace of mind by local residents of Minamisatsuma City, the surrounding area, and tourists.

(Reference) Previous press releases related to this matter
Minamisatsuma City, Macnica, and NTT West Japan Kagoshima Branch signed a comprehensive partnership agreement on "regional revitalization through autonomous driving" through public-private partnership.
(May 5, 2024)

<Press release materials from each party>
Minamisatsuma City: https://www.city.minamisatsuma.lg.jp/living/basjikokuhyo/e030064.html
Macnica: https://www.macnica.co.jp/public-relations/news/2024/145224/
NTT West: https://www.ntt-west.co.jp/newscms/kagoshima/13819/kagoshima_n20240505a.pdf

*The information contained in this news release is current as of the time of publication. Please note that the information may differ from that at the time of publication.

<Contact for inquiries regarding this matter>
Macnica Smart City & Mobility Division
TEL: 045-470-9118
MAIL: auto-solution@macnica.co.jp

<Contact for media inquiries>
Macnica://www.macnica.co.jp
Public Relations Office: Miyahara Email: macpr@macnica.co.jp