Semi-autonomous vehicle brings future to Japanese mountain village english.kyodonews.net

posted by  banzaitokyo | 3 years, 6 months ago in Auto & Transportation

Asa Ishikami has seen much change in her 85 years of life, and now she is witnessing the future of travel come to her remote northeastern Japan mountain village.

Having watched her village's population steadily decline over the years, the bus traversing Ishikami's local route was becoming increasingly empty, so when a semi-autonomous, golf buggy-like replacement arrived, it seemed to breathe life into the local community.

"It's really convenient for me as I live alone and have no other means to travel distances that are a little far (for me)," Ishikami said with a smile.