The i-Road would be great in NYC.
Nick Czap, Toyota Asks for Ideas About How to Use an Ultrasmall Vehicle
AS a rush of innovation reshapes the automotive industry, from ride-hailing apps to autonomous driving technology, automakers have joined in rethinking the future of transportation.
Toyota, in one venture, is thinking small: a pint-size, three-wheeled electric vehicle called the i-Road. It has built prototypes of the vehicle, but now it needs to develop a market for it.
[…]
Jason Wiener, a Silicon Valley technology executive, devised the technology, which he called M-iRoad. When a licensed driver turns on the i-Road, software in the driver’s smartphone communicates with the vehicle’s software, allowing the i-Road to be driven up to its top speed of 37 m.p.h. If the user is 16 or older but does not have a driver’s license, the software limits the i-Road’s output to 4 horsepower and its speed to 20 m.p.h., effectively turning the i-Road into what the California Vehicle Code defines as a motorized bicycle.
I would have used the i-Road last night, to pick up take-out food across town. And if NYC added i-Road to its city bike service, I would take one from Grand Central Station to JFK, which is prohibitive far for biking.
Also great, the i-Road for Two!
from Stowe Boyd http://stoweboyd.com/post/134585652387
