Mobility Services and Local Development Summary

Here you will find trending news topics in the automotive and mobility markets around the world.

We carefully select interesting news in the automotive industry, both domestic and international, and translate and summarize the contents for your reference. We hope you will find it useful in catching up with the latest news in the industry.

Newmo, a vehicle dispatch app, acquires cabs New Ride-Sharing Company

July 3, 2024 by Nikkei

App development startup Pneumo (Minato, Tokyo) has acquired Osaka-based cab company Mirai Miyako and will enter the Japanese version of the ride-sharing business. Mirai Miyako owns more than 600 cabs and has sales of 5.5 billion yen in FY2023. The acquisition is estimated to cost several hundred million yen.

Pneumo is developing an operation management system and application, which will be introduced to the group’s cab companies this fall. The company plans to increase the number of vehicles to 3,000, 4.6 times the current number, by March 2026.

Pneumo was founded in January 2024 by Naoki Aoyagi, a former Mercari employee, and has raised ¥2 billion from ANRI and other venture capital and operating companies, with plans to raise an additional ¥10 billion.

In the cab industry, collaboration between major players and IT companies is progressing. Dai-Ichi Kotsu Sangyo Group has partnered with the DiDi car-dispatch application and Uber Technologies of the US. Growth in the ridesharing business requires expansion in scale and recognition, and capital alliances and acquisitions involving IT and startup companies may be on the horizon.

The Japanese version of ridesharing, which began in April, employs a unique system in which cab companies are responsible for operation management and driver work management. This has led to the creation of a new camp in the cab industry.

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Cabs in Shizuoka Wave of Digitalization: Ride-Sharing and AI

July 9, 2024 By Nikkei

Shizuoka Prefecture’s cab industry is going digital to cope with labor shortages and high prices.Shizuoka City has begun a Japanese version of ridesharing, and Fujieda City is experimenting with AI-based ridesharing cabs.

Shizuoka Hikari Taxi has partnered with DiDi Mobility Japan to launch a Japanese version of ridesharing using two idle vehicles. The service will operate from Friday and Saturday evenings to the next morning, and is considering expanding depending on demand.

Fujieda City is conducting a pilot project called “Fujieda mobi,” a shared-ride cab service that utilizes AI to improve convenience and create demand.

The cab industry is facing challenges such as driver shortages and an aging population, which are expected to be solved through digitalization. However, raising awareness of the use of apps and gaining a digital understanding of customers are challenges.

Through these efforts, the industry aims to improve the supply-demand balance and provide new services.

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Demonstration experiments toward a sustainable transportation society, including self-driving buses and AI demand cabs, to begin in Hachijojima.

July 10, 2024 by Yahoo! News

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government will begin a demonstration experiment of next-generation mobility services on Hachijojima Island in July 2024. The goal is to realize a sustainable mobility society through three services: “AI Demand Taxi,” “Sharing Mobility,” and “Self-Driving Bus.
Hachijo-jima Island is located approximately 280 km south of central Tokyo and is known as a resort area where people can enjoy ocean activities and nature. Experiments such as drone delivery and electric bike sharing have been conducted in the past.
Features of the new service:

1. AI Demand Taxi: Efficient Shared Ride Transportation by AI
2. Sharing Mobility: Operated by docomo Bike Share and island operators
3. Automated buses: routes between airports and ports

These services will test the efficient use of limited human resources and the realization of a society without transportation refugees. This experiment is attracting attention because of its potential for application in other areas.

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