What is Yokkaichi City?

Yokkaichi City is located southwest of the Nagoya metropolitan area, in the northern part of Mie Prefecture, with an area of approximately 206 square kilometers and a population of approximately 310,000. Facing Ise Bay to the east and the Suzuka Mountains to the west, it is a key transportation hub between the east and west and has long flourished as a post town on the Tokaido Highway and a port town.

Yokkaichi Port has been open for 125 years and has played an important role as a port supporting industry for a long time. In 2011, it became an international hub port and plays an important role as a representative international trading port in the Chubu region.

Kintetsu Yokkaichi Station in the city is one of the major terminals with the highest number of users in Mie Prefecture. In order to create a more livable town, redevelopment is underway, centering on Chuo Dori, which connects Kintetsu Yokkaichi Station and JR Yokkaichi Station.

Macnica conducted a demonstration experiment of an autonomous driving EV bus on the west side of Kintetsu Yokkaichi Station for 19 days from Wednesday, November​ ​6th to Wednesday, November 27th, 2024 (excluding Mondays).

We would like to express our sincere gratitude to everyone who test drove the autonomous driving EV bus during the demonstration experiment, as well as all the related parties and local residents who were considerate and cooperated with the operation of the bus on public roads. We would also like to thank the local residents for their valuable opinions and support.

In this column, we will report on the details of the demonstration experiment in Yokkaichi City.

Background of the demonstration experiment

The demonstration experiment was carried out mainly along Chuo-dori, the city's main street.

Yokkaichi City has formulated the "Niwamichi Yokkaichi" basic plan for urban development, setting goals such as "developing a lively atmosphere by improving mobility in the city" and "increasing the number of visitors by strengthening regional cooperation." The "Niwa" in Niwamichi refers to green infrastructure such as greenery, accommodation, and exchange, while "Michi" refers to walkable areas such as transportation, movement, staying, and activity, and together these two are called Niwamichi.

The entire vast space of the central street, 1.6 km long and 70 m wide, was designed, and the stakeholders are working together to develop the city. In addition, the autonomous driving Introduction Study Group and the Yokkaichi Smart Region Core Promotion Council, consisting of transportation companies and economic organizations, were launched. Four autonomous driving demonstration experiments have been conducted in Yokkaichi so far, and efforts have been made to create a smart city within the city.

This fifth demonstration experiment will see the bus travelling around Chuo-dori avenue on the west side of Kintetsu Yokkaichi Station, the Miyako Hotel, Yokkaichi Civic Park, and other areas to verify whether the bus can improve the mobility of visitors between the station and Chuo-dori avenue and create a lively atmosphere through the use of an autonomous driving EV bus and a demonstration experiment of the Yokkaichi version of MaaS.

Overview of the demonstration experiment

For this demonstration experiment, two autonomous driving EV buses, "EVO" and "ARMA," were introduced.

This demonstration experiment was conducted on Chuo-dori Street, mainly on the west side of Kintetsu Yokkaichi Station.

<overview>
schedule: 2024 year 11 month 6 Sun (Wed) ~ 11 month 27 Wednesdays (excluding Mondays) 19 days
Vehicle used: autonomous driving EV bus" EVO "and" ARMA "of 2 Bus service
EVO Capacity (demonstration experiment): 6 given name
ARMA Capacity (demonstration experiment): 6 given name
autonomous driving level: Level 2
Speed: maximum 18km/h
EVO Size: Total length 4.78m, overall width 2.10m, total height 2.67m
ARMA Size: Total length 4.75m, overall width 2.11m, total height 2.65m
How to board: All seats are reserved in advance on weekends, some seats are reserved in advance on weekdays, and there are free boarding slots available on the day
※Dedicated website or CTY Advance reservations available via the Connect app

The EVO and ARMA can travel autonomously at a maximum speed of 18km/h for about 9 hours (100km) on a single charge. The EVO is capable of Level 4 autonomous driving, in which autonomous driving system takes full control of the vehicle under certain conditions such as location, weather, and speed, but both vehicles were operated at Level 2 this time.

The starting point was Humanitec Plaza, located near Kintetsu Yokkaichi Station.

<Route> Approx. 2km one way

Humanitec Plaza → Cultural Center South ① → Cultural Center South ② → Civic Park → Miyako Hotel

Electric kick scooters were placed in front of Humanitec Plaza and test rides and training sessions were held.

Demonstration experiment

The current demonstration experiment started at Humanitec Plaza, located close to Kintetsu Yokkaichi Station, and traveled along a route that went around five bus stops. Last year's demonstration experiment used two autonomous driving EV buses, "ARMA," but this time, an EVO was added to the ARMA for a two-bus setup, operating 12 trips a day. There were no major issues during the experiment, and highly stable operation was achieved.

It operated 12 flights per day.

Even in areas with a lot of people, the vehicle automatically recognized pedestrians and other obstacles and navigated safely.

Stable running was achieved at a speed of about 15-18km/h.

The strength of Macnica 's autonomous driving EV bus is its ability to accurately recognize pedestrians and cyclists.

Customers who actually took a test drive said things like, "It was great to be able to compare the acceleration performance and ride comfort of the two cars by driving the EVO and ARMA and really get a feel for the difference," as well as many repeat customers who said things like, "I live along the line and had been curious about it, so I'm glad I was able to test drive it," and "I took a test drive last year, and was looking forward to riding it again this year."

A generative AI concierge has been implemented in the EVO and ARMA cars. In the future, when autonomous driving moves to Level 4, there will be no operator in the car and eventually no driver, so it is expected that the concierge will be a powerful tool to communicate with passengers and resolve manpower shortages.

In this demonstration experiment, Mie Kotsu Co., Ltd. and Sangi Railway Co., Ltd. provided remote monitors for the autonomous driving EV buses. A remote monitoring center was set up within Humanitec Plaza, and Macnica 's remote monitoring system "everfleet" was installed. This makes it possible to visualize vehicle operation information and infrastructure information, and remotely monitor the operation information of the autonomous driving EV buses in real time, enabling accurate and safe operation.

A "remote monitoring room" has been set up within Humanitec Plaza to monitor the vehicles.

In the future, one remote monitor will be able to manage multiple vehicles at the same time, which will contribute to solving social issues such as labor shortages. In addition, CTY, a designated terrestrial broadcasting company headquartered in Yokkaichi City that provides cable television, has implemented remote monitoring using Macnica 's local 5G in its communications infrastructure. Following on from last year, the company also conducted a communication quality test with 4G.

Electric scooter test rides and seminars

Test rides for electric scooters were held on Friday, Saturday,​ ​and Sunday (November​ ​8-10, 15-17, 22-24) using vehicles from BIRD, the pioneering electric scooter brand that BRJ is selling in Japan. A training session was also held by the Mie Prefectural Police on November​ ​16 (Sat).

Most of the visitors were trying out a kick scooter for the first time, but many customers of all ages enjoyed it. Some expressed concern about how to ride and the traffic rules, but after a thorough explanation, they were able to enjoy a smooth test ride within a few minutes. However, some elderly people gave up on the test ride. In the future, we are considering a three-wheeled type with a seat, or a four-wheeled type, and we hope to work together with autonomous driving EV bus to create a society where anyone can easily and freely go where they want to go.

Electric kick scooter training sessions and test rides were held on weekends during the event.

Many customers said it was their first time riding an electric scooter.

Demonstration experiment for constructing MaaS

Yokkaichi City is aiming to build a Yokkaichi version of MaaS in order to develop services that link public transport, focusing on transport hubs, with new forms of mobility, and promote walking around town in collaboration with shopping districts and other areas. At the same time, a demonstration experiment utilizing a digital point rally was also conducted.

The MaaS system provided information such as the location of autonomous driving buses and local buses, as well as available parking spaces.

Demonstration experiment information poster

We provided a digital map that can display the operation status of autonomous driving bus and the location of route buses on smartphones and tablet devices. We also implemented a point rally spot initiative, where passengers receive 5 points for riding autonomous driving bus and 1 point for visiting a point earning location in the city.

Demonstration experiment efforts and results

During the demonstration test, a very large number of people rode the autonomous driving EV bus. The results suggest that autonomous driving EV buses will continue to attract more customers for sightseeing, business, daily shopping, and more.

Visit to the National Urban Planning Conference

During the demonstration experiment period, on November​ ​14th and 15th, the 76th National Urban Planning Conference was held, and participants came to Yokkaichi City to inspect the site.

*National Urban Planning Convention
The annual conference is held for the purpose of gathering people involved in urban planning administration from all over Japan to study and refine basic policies for urban planning, disseminate knowledge about urban planning, and present and exchange research findings and opinions on various issues related to urban planning and urban planning projects. 1 Held times.

Participants of the convention came to inspect the autonomous driving electric bus.

Many of the participants in the tournament were seeing the event for the first time, and listened intently to the explanations given by the staff.

They were able to see the demonstration experiment of the autonomous driving EV bus, along with the use of the circular deck and the pedestrian convenience promotion road system that are currently under construction. Many of the participants were very interested in the bus that runs autonomously on public roads, and we were able to show it around to many local government officials.

They listened intently to an explanation of the generative AI shown on the vehicle's display. They also toured the remote monitoring room installed in the Humanitec Plaza, where they had a question-and-answer session about the communication technology used.

Some of the participants even got to try out the electric scooter.

He said, "I would like to return to my local government immediately and start preparations to accelerate the consideration of introducing autonomous driving EV buses," and "I would like to use this as a reference for introducing autonomous driving."

Future prospects

Even at dusk when traffic volume increases, there were no delays and the service ran as scheduled.

As part of the Chuo Dori Reorganization Project, large-scale renovation work is underway on Chuo Dori, which connects JR Yokkaichi Station to Kintetsu Yokkaichi Station, the section west of Kintetsu Yokkaichi Station, as well as Suwa Park and Unomori Park. The west side of Kintetsu Yokkaichi Station, which was also the route for this demonstration experiment, was completed in March​ ​2024, and construction is currently underway on the other sections, aiming for completion in fiscal year 2027.

Renovation work is underway on Chuo-dori Avenue, scheduled for completion in 2027.

Macnica will support the mobility of local residents of Yokkaichi City, mainly through autonomous driving EV buses, and will strive to improve the convenience and comfort of travel.

Macnica will continue to cooperate with Yokkaichi City and work with transportation companies, tourist associations and others to provide a wide range of mobility services to support the movement of visitors.

Inquiry

Macnica supports the realization of smart cities using next-generation mobility, including autonomous driving, and urban industries. If you have any questions or concerns about autonomous driving, please feel free to contact us using the form below.