Otemachi, Marunouchi, and Yurakucho District Start E-Scooter Demonstration Experiment on Public Roads
As Japan’s first smart city project, the test will validate the safety and social acceptance of e-scooters
Luup, Inc. (hereinafter “Luup”) and the Smart City Promotion Committee (hereinafter “Promotion Committee”) of The Council for Area Development and Management of Otemachi, Marunouchi, and Yurakucho (hereinafter “OMY Council”), which consists of the three organizations involved in the development of the Otemachi, Marunouchi, and Yurakucho districts (hereinafter “OMY”), have announced that they will begin a demonstration experiment using e-scooters on public roads in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, from October 27. This is the first government-approved demonstration of e-scooters running on public roads under the “New Business Exception System” in Japan.
While e-scooters are being introduced and spreading in the US and Europe, there are several hurdles to be cleared in Japan because they fall under the category and adopt the rules of motorized bicycles under current legislation.
With the goal of creating a new short-distance transportation infrastructure in Japan, Luup has been working to optimize these regulations aiming to develop a sharing service for e-scooters and other electric micromobility vehicles in Japan.
In this experiment, under collaboration between four parties, several dedicated mobility ports will be installed in the OMY area, and through the use of e-scooters by the participants, we will validate (1) the effectiveness of e-scooters to support faster and more comfortable last-mile transportation and (2) safety and social acceptance of e-scooters on public roads.
Furthermore, this experiment was applied to the “Smart City Model Project” of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism by the promotion committee consisting OMY Council, and was selected for support in 2020 as a leading model project.
The Overview of the Experiment
– Period: October 27, 2020 to mid-March, 2021
– Objective: To validate the safety and social acceptance of e-scooters as a new mobility vehicle by utilizing the New Business Exception System based on the Industrial Competitiveness Enhancement Act.
– Riding conditions: Equivalent to the rule for motorized bicyclesunder current legislation (including helmet, driver’s license, license plate, etc.)
*In this demonstration experiment, participants will be able to ride in bike lanes in addition to the roadway.
– Methodology: Rental
– Area: OMY area, Kanda, Ochanomizu, and Jimbocho area in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
