Toyota is gearing up for the 2020 Olympic and
Paralympic Games in Tokyo by unveiling a specially designed shuttle called the
Accessible People Mover (APM). Designed to transport athletes, staff and visitors between venues and
events, the APM is a battery electric vehicle with a relatively open design.
The driver sits alone up front in the center of the vehicle, while there are
two rows of seats behind them. This setup enables the AMP to carry up to five
passengers at a time.
Since the games will be attended by a wide range of
people – including the elderly and handicapped – the AMP has been designed to
be wheelchair friendly. The second row seat folds forward to make room for a
wheelchair, while access to the vehicle is provided by a ramp which is
integrated into the side sills.
Besides the passenger model, there will be a
so-called “Relief” variant. It features a stretcher and room for two medical
technicians. Approximately 200 APMs will be used during the Olympics and each
measures approximately 3.9 meters long, 1.6 meters wide
and 2.0 meters tall. Toyota didn’t release detailed performance
specifications, but confirmed the shuttle will have a range of 100
km and a top speed of 19 km/h.
The AMP is a ‘last mile’ vehicle and was developed
as part of the company’s Mobility for All initiative. It’s just the latest in a
long line of Toyota models used in support of the Olympics as eight Mirai FCVs
were delivered to the International Olympic Committee earlier this year. In the
past, Toyota delivered 95 vehicles for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and 1,520
vehicles for the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano.
