Japanese car manufacturer Toyota said this week that it is testing smartcard technology that will enable users to share cars from a pool of public vehicles. The system, called Crayon, is designed to work with Toyota’s new line of electrically powered ‘e-com’ cars; two-seater, battery operated vehicles that can run for sixty-two miles without having to be recharged. Rather than users owning their own, separate vehicles, the new system is designed to allow employees or general users to share environmentally friendly cars.
To reserve a car, users have to access the Crayon center booking site over the internet and input their details. The car is then delivered to the nearest depot or left outside the driver’s preferred destination. Each user is assigned a smartcard, which effectively serves as a key to unlock the vehicle. During the journey, the card records the mileage and subsequently charges the user’s account. While the vehicle is in motion, position information is transmitted from the car to a central computer system via a global positioning system and mobile phone. If the car goes out of the designated driving area, a warning is automatically sent to the driver.
Toyota said 300 of its staff will start testing the technology next month, using 35 prototype cars at the company’s Toyota City headquarters near Tokyo. If the tests prove successful, it plans to introduce the smartcards in the UK, Europe and North America some time next year.
