Futuristic transportation at World Exposition in Japan

At the 2005 World Exposition in Aichi, Japan visitors will be transported around by an “Intelligent Multimode Transit System (IMTS).” The system is a new kind of bus/train that operates as a platoon. Made and supplied by Toyota, it consists of unmanned vehicles that are not mechanically linked together, but run in file formation at unified speeds. The cars do not run on rails but along a specially dedicated intelligent roadway. They can also be driven manually on ordinary roads.
The use of the Multimode system in the Nagakute area of the Expo, which is being held March 25 to September 25, is the first full-scale operation. The system combines the “punctuality, speed and capacity of trains,” says a press release, “with the economic efficiency and flexibility of buses.”
The 2005 Expo will also showcase the use of fuel cell hybrid buses, while the Aichi Rapid Transit Company is working on Japan’s first magnetically levitated linear motor car service, known as “Linimo,” to be used to access the Nagakute grounds.
www.toyota.co.jp