Dear Colleagues,
Toyota Motor Corp. is seriously looking at the business potential of Accessible Taxis. After it launched its spacious "JPN Taxi" wagon on Oct. 23, 2017 targeting wheelchair users, sports-persons with disabilities and tourists to Japan from abroad in the run up to the Paralympic Games, it is thinking further to reduce the usual boarding time for passengers using wheelchairs.
Toyota aims to encourage taxi companies to provide a total of 10,000 of the vehicles, which is about one-third of all taxis in Tokyo, in time for 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics. It is pertinent to observe that Toyota had not released an exclusive taxi model since 1995.
Technical Features:- For easy access to seniors and children, the car has a spacious interior with a low floor; a high ceiling; a power sliding door and can accommodate a passenger in a wheelchair. The wheelchair user is ushered inside via a ramp placed on the car’s side, with the help of the driver. Safety has been improved through the use of the latest collision avoidance support system in this vehicle. The easy to install wheelchair ramp provided is operated by the driver.
New Improvements:- Now the Toyota Motor Corp. has announced that it will improve its “JPN Taxi” universal design taxicab to enable wheelchair users to get into the vehicle more quickly — cutting the current maximum of around 20 minutes down to three minutes.
The improvements, unveiled on Feb. 4, 2019 involve redesigning the car’s foldable wheelchair ramp and simplifying its installation process, while the taxi itself will be a new model with better functionality, according to the major car maker.
Updating already sold cars of the model :- More than 10,000 units of the model are in use by taxi companies across Japan. For the units already sold, Toyota will from February 2019 begin providing a new ramp redesigned from tri-fold to double-fold, with improved fixings. A new model to be introduced in March will have an automatic sliding door that opens and shuts about 1.5 seconds faster than the current model.
A Toyota-organized training session will enable the driver to install the ramp in around three to four minutes, according to the company. A person in charge of the car’s development commented, “We want to make a taxi that makes everyone smile.”
Users's Feedback:- Hitoshi Nakamura, 67, a wheelchair user living in Nagoya’s Naka Ward was happy about the new model. Nakaumura submitted about 10,000 signatures from people requesting the model’s improvement to Toyota in November last year. “I’m really thankful and can’t wait to ride in the new one,” he said.
Source: The Mainichi.
(Japanese original by Yoshinori Ogura, Nagoya News Center)
Toyota Motor Corp. is seriously looking at the business potential of Accessible Taxis. After it launched its spacious "JPN Taxi" wagon on Oct. 23, 2017 targeting wheelchair users, sports-persons with disabilities and tourists to Japan from abroad in the run up to the Paralympic Games, it is thinking further to reduce the usual boarding time for passengers using wheelchairs.
Toyota aims to encourage taxi companies to provide a total of 10,000 of the vehicles, which is about one-third of all taxis in Tokyo, in time for 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics. It is pertinent to observe that Toyota had not released an exclusive taxi model since 1995.
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| A driver paces an easier-to-install wheelchair ramp on an improved model of "JPN Taxi" taxicab. Photo credits-(Mainichi/Yoshinori Ogura) |
Technical Features:- For easy access to seniors and children, the car has a spacious interior with a low floor; a high ceiling; a power sliding door and can accommodate a passenger in a wheelchair. The wheelchair user is ushered inside via a ramp placed on the car’s side, with the help of the driver. Safety has been improved through the use of the latest collision avoidance support system in this vehicle. The easy to install wheelchair ramp provided is operated by the driver.
New Improvements:- Now the Toyota Motor Corp. has announced that it will improve its “JPN Taxi” universal design taxicab to enable wheelchair users to get into the vehicle more quickly — cutting the current maximum of around 20 minutes down to three minutes.
The improvements, unveiled on Feb. 4, 2019 involve redesigning the car’s foldable wheelchair ramp and simplifying its installation process, while the taxi itself will be a new model with better functionality, according to the major car maker.
Updating already sold cars of the model :- More than 10,000 units of the model are in use by taxi companies across Japan. For the units already sold, Toyota will from February 2019 begin providing a new ramp redesigned from tri-fold to double-fold, with improved fixings. A new model to be introduced in March will have an automatic sliding door that opens and shuts about 1.5 seconds faster than the current model.
A Toyota-organized training session will enable the driver to install the ramp in around three to four minutes, according to the company. A person in charge of the car’s development commented, “We want to make a taxi that makes everyone smile.”
Users's Feedback:- Hitoshi Nakamura, 67, a wheelchair user living in Nagoya’s Naka Ward was happy about the new model. Nakaumura submitted about 10,000 signatures from people requesting the model’s improvement to Toyota in November last year. “I’m really thankful and can’t wait to ride in the new one,” he said.
Source: The Mainichi.
(Japanese original by Yoshinori Ogura, Nagoya News Center)
