As Hitachi, Ltd. wants elderly people in rural areas to enjoy freedom of movement and to be able to go wherever they want whenever they want, Hitachi is tackling the development of a new service in collaboration with Social Action Organization, which is working to improve and lessen the need for nursing care by taking advantage of information and communications technology (ICT).
The service that is being developed offers elderly people struggling to get around in their daily lives a mode of transportation that takes advantage of pick-up vehicles owned by nursing care facilities. The elderly users of the service use a smartphone app to call a vehicle to take them shopping, to the hospital, and other places.
Proof-of-concept testing began in November 2021, and expectations are increasing that this will become a new means of transportation to add to existing bus and cab services.
