STATION Ai–Nagoya Station–Sakae Automated Shuttle

🤖 AI-generated summary · 🔎 Last verified 2026-08-02

This overview was generated with AI from the public sources listed below and checked against them before publication. It has not had a complete human fact-check — treat it as a starting point and follow the sources.

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Central Nagoya's "self-driving" shuttle is Level 2, not Level 4 — a safety driver still sits behind the wheel of every Toyota Sienna running the 9.8 km STATION Ai–Sakae loop.

Outcome🔄 Ongoing

Evidence🏛️ Officialgrades the sourcing — this entry states no impact figure

what does this mean?

The strongest source is the operator's or the city's own reporting — an official report, dataset or press release. It grades who did the looking — not how well the project went. All four grades →

Run byAichi Prefecture, with an NTT Docomo-led consortium (incl. Meitetsu Bus, May Mobility Japan)

Scale🧪 Pilot

Part of 1001 Smart Cities — 1,167 documented projects · 🏙️ 5 more in Nagoya · 🚗 Autonomous vehicles guide · 🚲 Mobility projects

Since October 2024, Aichi Prefecture and an eight-company, NTT Docomo-led consortium have run Level-2 automated Toyota Sienna minivans on public roads through central Nagoya, first linking the STATION Ai startup campus (Showa Ward) with Nagoya Station, and from October 2025 extended into a 9.8 km loop that adds Sakae, with up to four round trips a day. May Mobility supplies the driving software (5 lidar units, 8 cameras, 5 radar); a safety driver still sits in the driver's seat, and Aichi describes the service as working toward — not yet reaching — Level 4, driverless operation. Rides are free for eligible users and carry four to five passengers per trip.

Live 📅 since 2024

🎓 Lesson

Even Aichi Prefecture's most visible robotaxi pilot keeps a human driver in the seat — Level 4 is the stated goal, not the current reality.

🚲 Mobility Autonomous vehicles Safety & security

Sources

↗ Aichi Prefecture — regular AV service in central Nagoya, 2025 updateSTATION Ai–Nagoya Station–Sakae 9.8 km loop, October 2025 extension, vehicle/sensor specs, Level-2-toward-Level-4 framing

↗ Aichi Prefecture — 2024 regular AV service launchOctober 2024 launch, STATION Ai–Nagoya Station route, consortium members

↗ Nikkei — Aichi runs regular autonomous vehicle service, governor eyes Level 4independent press confirmation of Level 2 operation with safety driver and the stated ambition toward Level 4

Continue exploring

Compare this project

🇪🇪 Tallinn Self-Driving Shuttle Pilots · Tallinn Both run recurring automated-shuttle pilots for years rather than jumping to driverless — Tallinn's began in 2017, Nagoya's in 2024. 🇩🇪 ALIKE Autonomous Ride-Pooling (MOIA ID. Buzz) · Hamburg Same shape of project: a federally/prefecture-backed consortium testing automated shuttles with a safety driver aboard for the full pilot. 🇰🇷 Hyundai Mobis Level 4 Autonomous Test Drives, Songdo–Yeongjongdo · Incheon Contrast within the region: Incheon reached Level 4 testing on a similar-length route, while Nagoya's shuttles remain Level 2 with a driver.

Explore the wider context

📟 A Reading Is Not a Decision 📖 CBTC (communications-based train control)📖 Grades of Automation (GoA)📖 ANPR (automatic number-plate recognition)

📎 Cite this project

1001 Smart Cities (2026). “STATION Ai–Nagoya Station–Sakae Automated Shuttle” — Nagoya, Japan. The Smart City Atlas. https://1001smartcities.org/projects/nagoya-autonomous-shuttle/ (last verified 2026-08-02). Data: CC BY 4.0.

The underlying data is free to reuse with attribution — see the open data page.

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