Professor Hitoshi Matsubara, Vice President of Future University-Hakodate, has established a venture company to put into practical use a demand-type transportation system that operates in response to user requests.With "Future Share," which has a company in Hakodate, Hokkaido, the computer selects the most suitable vehicle and route, and aims to put into practical use a system that dispatches buses and taxis.
According to Future University-Hakodate, the future share is capitalized at 100 million yen.It was jointly established by Professor Matsubara and IT company Atware (Yokohama City, President Takashi Makino).Professor Matsubara will be appointed as the president, Wataru Matsutate, a director of Atware, will join the board, and former president Hideyuki Nakashima, a specially appointed professor at the University of Tokyo, will also participate in research and development.
Conventional demand-type transportation often operates shared buses and taxis that require advance reservations for depopulated areas, but the newly developed system does not require reservations, and the computer selects and operates the optimal route.
Whenever the user calls, the vehicle will be dispatched in real time, and the user can specify the boarding / alighting location, realizing a fully automatic control full-demand service.In urban areas, it is assumed that multiple transportation companies will work together to deliver a large number of vehicles.
Rural areas are now expected to abolish public transport, which has become difficult to maintain due to population decline and severe aging.For this reason, local governments and companies are calling for the practical application of new demand-type transportation systems.
