Table of Contents
- 1 Background of the Demonstration Experiment
- 2 Details of the Demonstration Experiment
- 3 Demonstration experiment to verify the promotion of "service use + mobility
- 4 Outline of the Demonstration Experiment
- 5 Comments by Koichiro Takahara, President and Representative Director, NearMe, Inc.
- 6 About nearMe.Airport
- 7 About NearMe
This demonstration experiment was selected for the Toshiba OPEN INNOVATION PROGRAM, a program that invites companies with enthusiasm for new innovations that utilize Toshiba Group's business assets and cutting-edge technologies, and supports the accelerated commercialization of these companies through collaboration with Toshiba Group. This is an infrastructure tech business that has been adopted by the Toshiba OPEN INNOVATION PROGRAM.
Background of the Demonstration Experiment
In the environment surrounding the new coronavirus, the Japanese government's measures against the new coronavirus include the removal of restrictions on the number of people who can be accommodated at large-scale events, the wearing of masks that "respect the independent choice of individuals and are based on individual judgment," and the Japanese government's decision to shift the status of the new coronavirus under the Infectious Diseases Control Law from the current "Class 2 equivalent" to "Class 5," the same as seasonal influenza and other viruses, effective May 8, 2012. The Japanese government has decided to shift the status of novel coronaviruses under the Infectious Diseases Control Law from the current "Class 2 equivalent" to "Class 5," the same as seasonal influenza and other viruses, effective May 8 of this year. As the environment surrounding the new coronavirus enters a new phase, the movement of people is expected to become more active than ever. On the other hand, opportunities to regularly use public transportation are decreasing due to behavioral changes in the coronary disaster, such as increased use of e-commerce and online shopping and the establishment of remote working.
Furthermore, in public transportation, there are still issues to be solved to realize more comfortable travel, such as the low penetration rate of Felica*1 cards (transportation system IC cards) in rural areas and the fact that cash-purchased tickets are the main payment method for foreign visitors to Japan when using public transportation.
1 FeliCa is a registered trademark of Sony Corporation.
Details of the Demonstration Experiment
The purpose of this experiment is to revitalize the use of public transportation, and during the experiment period, users of "nearMe.Airport" who depart from Haneda Airport can obtain a one-day ticket (QR ticket) for the Tokyo Metro Marunouchi Line through the nearMe smartphone application and service website. This enables not only door-to-door travel from Haneda Airport to places of lodging and sightseeing, but also unlimited rides*3 on the Tokyo Metro Marunouchi Line for one day, making it possible to enjoy travel regardless of whether it is for business or pleasure. This allows you to enjoy your travel regardless of whether it is for business or private purposes.
Nearme is developing a "smart shuttle" service that provides door-to-door transportation to prepare for the growing demand for inbound and other forms of transportation and to make transportation more comfortable for as many people as possible.
2 This service is available to those who make a reservation on or after April 18, 2023 (Tuesday) during the above implementation period. Also, even if multiple people use "nearMe.Airport", only one ticket will be issued for each person.
3 Passengers can pass through ticket gates on the Tokyo Metro Marunouchi Line by holding their QR Ticket over a QR Ticket-reading tablet installed near a ticket gate that is compatible with QR Ticket. At stations where no tablets are installed, station staff will check the QR Ticket.
Demonstration experiment to verify the promotion of "service use + mobility
For details of the demonstration experiment, please refer to the Toshiba Infrastructure Systems Corporation press release (https://www.global.toshiba/jp/news/infrastructure/2023/04/news-20230411-01.html(see below).
Outline of the Demonstration Experiment
| Name of Demonstration Experiment | Demonstration experiment to verify the promotion of "service use + mobility" by using smartphone applications of various service providers to board trains. |
| implementation period | Tuesday, April 25, 2023 - Sunday, June 25, 2023 *Period subject to change |
| subject (of taxation, etc.) | nearMe.Airport" with Haneda Airport as the departure point. *All reservations made on or after Tuesday, April 18, 2023, during the above implementation period are eligible. |
| Number of users | 1 person (even if more than one person uses "nearMe.Airport", only one person will be issued) |
| Station to be implemented | Tokyo Subway Co. (Tokyo Metro) All stations on the Marunouchi Line Stations with tablets for reading QR tickets Shinjuku Station, Yotsuya-Sanchome Station, Awajicho Station, Ochanomizu Station, Ikebukuro Station (Central Passage East Gate only) |
| Ticket name | Marunouchi Line Digital 1-day Pass |
| valid interval | All Tokyo Metro Marunouchi Lines (passengers cannot ride on lines other than the Marunouchi Lines) |
| term of validity | If you use "nearMe.Airport" in the morning: On the day of use If you use "nearMe.Airport" in the afternoon: The day after your use For more information, please visit Near Me's Demonstration Experiment Overview page (https://guide.nearme.jp/aeac4b80-14ce-495a-854b-8ee988e8cb95(see below). |
For more information, please visit Near Me's Demonstration Experiment Overview page (https://guide.nearme.jp/aeac4b80-14ce-495a-854b-8ee988e8cb95(see below).
Comments by Koichiro Takahara, President and Representative Director, NearMe, Inc.
We are very pleased to announce the kick-off of this demonstration experiment, which has been selected for the "Toshiba OPEN INNOVATION PROGRAM. For Near Me, which aims to become the "fourth public transportation system," it is of great value to be able to participate in this experiment together with Toshiba Infrastructure Systems, which is building infrastructure for comfortable public transportation, and Tokyo Metro, which is responsible for the movement of many people as a public transportation system. We believe that it will be of great value to participate in this experiment together with Toshiba Infrastructure Systems, which is building the infrastructure for comfortable public transportation, and Tokyo Metro, which is responsible for the movement of many people on public transportation.
Particularly for inbound travel, the establishment of a seamless system not only for door-to-door travel originating at airports, but also with public transportation used by many people will make travel more comfortable than ever before.
We also hope that this demonstration experiment will encourage people to become more mobile in various situations, both business and private, which will ultimately lead to an economic revitalization.
About nearMe.Airport
The airport shuttle, Smart ShuttleⓇ, is an airport shuttle service that connects the airport and the city door-to-door with optimal routing using proprietary AI, and has been used by a total of more than 300,000 people since the service began in August 2019.
Currently, the service is available at 12 airports nationwide (Narita International, Central Japan International (Centrair), Kansai International, Osaka International (Itami), Tokyo International (Haneda), New Chitose, Fukuoka, Kitakyushu, Naha, Aomori, Nanki-Shirahama, Tokushima) and urban areas surrounding airports. Within the service area, the service provides a stress-free travel experience by eliminating public transportation transfers, as it connects your home at the point of departure to the airport and from the airport to your final destination in a single trip.
How to use "nearMe.Airport":
STEP1: Access the reservation site. Make a tentative reservation by entering the destination, desired arrival time, etc.
STEP2: Notification of vehicle availability within 24 hours. Ride time and vehicle are confirmed by 6:00 p.m. the day before.
STEP3: On the day of the tour, board at the meeting place at the time and go to your destination.
Reservation site URL: *Reservation site URL: *Reservation site URL: *Reservation site URL https://app.nearme.jp/airport-shuttle/
Reservations must be made in advance online. Advance reservations must be made by 6:00 p.m. the day before the desired date of use.
(For Haneda/Narita flights only, same-day reservations are accepted if a scheduled shuttle ride is available.)
*Please refer to the URL above for details on areas where pick-up and drop-off services are available and fees.
*Multilingual support (currently Japanese and English, plans to support 5 languages in the future).
*Tickets are not required as online payment is available. Also, there is no charge for flight delays.
About NearMe
Started in the MaaS area of the sharing economy to become an "instant matching" platform that utilizes real-time location information to contribute to regional revitalization. Since August 2019, the company has been operating "Smart Shuttle ®︎" for airport transfers, and has developed its own AI and routing optimization technology. Using this technology, we are developing "smart shuttle" services such as city carpooling services that can be used not by an unspecified number of people, but by a small number of people, and in a way that allows us to track who has taken the ride.
| name of company | NearMe, Inc. |
| Establishment | July 18, 2017 |
| Location | THE E.A.S.T. Nihonbashi-Tomizawacho, 9-4 Nihonbashi-Tomizawacho, Chuo-ku, Tokyo |
| representative | Representative Director Koichiro Takahara |
| uniform resouce locator | nearMe.Airport (Airport Shuttle) URL:https://app.nearme.jp/airport-shuttle/ nearMe.Golf (Golf Shuttle) URL:https://app.nearme.jp/golf-shuttle/ nearMe.Limo (private transportation service) URL:https://app.nearme.jp/limo/airport/ NearMe Corporation WEB site (cab sharing application "nearMe."):https://nearme.jp/ |
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