Honda develops driverless taxi service

Honda Motor will partner with taxi companies to deploy self-driving taxis in Japan, providing vehicles and systems to existing operators amid a labor shortage in the taxi-transportation industry.

The automaker plans to start operating driverless taxis in Tokyo in 2026 in partnership with Teito Motor Transportation and Kokusai Motorcars. Honda is lobbying the government to make the necessary regulatory changes.

Honda's plan splits these roles, with existing taxi operators running the taxis while Honda provides a comprehensive support package that includes ride-hailing apps and safeguards such as remote monitoring.

The taxis will have Level 4 autonomy, meaning they can drive fully autonomously under certain conditions. Japan requires that these vehicles be operated under human supervision.

Operating a taxi with only remote monitoring requires complex decision making and a high level of safety—barriers that taxi operators would struggle to overcome on their own. Honda’s support package reduces these barriers while reducing costs.

Regulatory challenges remain, however. Japan requires remote monitoring to be handled by designated safety personnel and does not allow outsourcing of work related to driver-related decisions.

Proposed solutions include Honda applying for a taxi business license and changing related regulations. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism is considering how to address the issue.

The plan is for the taxi service to use the Cruise Origin, a dedicated, fully autonomous vehicle without a driver's seat, developed by Honda in partnership with General Motors and its Cruise subsidiary.

The project is expected to start with about 500 cars to assess feasibility. Teito and Kokusai, who will be responsible for inspecting and repairing the vehicles as well as running dispatch centers, hope this will increase their profit margins and ease the driver shortage.

Last October, Honda announced plans to launch a driverless ride-hailing service in a joint venture it will form with GM and Cruise by 2024, in which Honda will hold a majority stake.

Japan will begin allowing Level 4 self-driving cars on public roads in 2023. The first shuttle service using the vehicles in the town of Eiheiji was suspended in October of that year after a minor collision with a bicycle.