Toyota suspends self-driving shuttle bus program after vehicle hits pedestrian

A Paralympian was left battered and bruised last week, after Toyota’s ‘e-Palette’ autonomous transporter failed to stop at a pedestrian crossing.

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Japanese manufacturer Toyota has temporarily suspended its self-driving shuttle bus program, after one of its vehicles hit an athlete at the Paralympic games in Tokyo last Thursday.

The ‘e-Palette’ autonomous transporter allegedly struck vision-impaired Judo competitor Aramitsu Kitazono within the confines of the Paralympic village, having failed to stop at a pedestrian crossing.

Kitazono was badly “cut and bruised” by the incident, and has been forced to drop out of the international sporting event. However, his injuries are not considered life-threatening.

A spokesperson for Toyota said: “We would like to express our sincerest apologies to the individual that was injured due to this unfortunate collision and we wish them a speedy recovery … We would also like to apologise for any inconvenience caused to those who use our mobility vehicles in the Athletes’ Village.

“All operations of the e-Palette are currently suspended. We are fully cooperating with the police investigation into the incident in order to determine the cause of this accident. In addition, we will conduct our own thorough investigation.”

The shuttle bus – developed by the brand’s autonomous research division Woven Planet Holdings – was heavily showcased alongside other Toyota concepts at both the Olympic and Paralympic Games, as part of a multi-million-dollar sponsorship deal with the Japanese government and IOC.

Earlier this year Toyota bought US ride-sharing company Lyft’s extensive autonomous program, and promised its own e-Palette bus would be rolled out for commercial operations “within the next few years.”

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