[CEATEC 2013] One major issue when it comes to living in a congested city, or in a bustling metropolis like Tokyo, would be the issue of parking. Parking can be quite horrendous – either it is a miracle to find a parking spot in the busy parts of the city, or the lanes are so narrow, traffic jams become a part of everyday life. Toyota intends to help commuters move intra-city with their Toyota Ha:mo, or Harmonious Mobility Network for short.
The Toyota Ha:mo happens to be a network system that will merge private car and public transportation efficiently, in an effort to make transportation a whole lot more people and community friendly. Needless to say, a snowball effect works here – the more folks who join up with Ha:mo, the more positive benefits can one reap which will ripple throughout the community. It will reduce the amount of stress caused during rush hour traffic, lower CO2 emissions, and lessen energy consumption waste.
How does it work? A couple of services are available – Ha:mo NAVI that offers you route guidance that merges automobiles and public transportation, while there is also Ha:mo RIDE. The latter happens to be a car sharing system that relies on ultra compact electric vehicles like this Toyota i-ROAD concept that you can see above, where it can seat three (or two comfortably if one is rather big sized).
Ha:mo NAVI will suggest a route that is suitable and the most optimum, allowing you to travel comfortably. Not only that, it will also inform you of public transportation options, as well as Ha:mo RIDE operators of their demanded rides. Will it take off in countries outside of Japan? Perhaps, but Japan itself is a good test bed for such technologies considering the sheer number of people living in their major cities alone.
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