Visitors arrive at the Tokyo Motor Show.

The 36th Tokyo Motor Show was held from October 29 to November 3 at the Makuhari Messe in Chiba, near Tokyo. This showcase for motor vehicles is held every year, with the focus alternating between passenger vehicles and motorcycles and commercial vehicles; this year the spotlight was on commercial vehicles. More than 300 models were on display, including vans for a wide range of uses, trucks of all sizes, and buses. Carmakers are today putting particular energy into the development of barrier-free vehicles for the disabled and the elderly.

Easy Access
Shows of commercial vehicles are usually relatively low-key, with specialized, narrowly marketed vehicles like trucks and buses the center of attention - exhibits that are of more interest to corporate buyers than to ordinary consumers. Barrier-free vehicles are usually no exception. At this year's show, however, many visitors were impressed, not just as industry insiders but as civic-minded consumers, with the progress made in making vehicles accessible to everyone.

	This van fitted with a wheelchair ramp was among the vehicles on display.

Many automakers exhibited vehicles designed to allow disabled people to board and alight with ease. One of the barrier-free models displayed by Toyota Motor Corp., for example, featured a revolving sliding seat on the passenger's side. The seat, controlled by a lever at the side, turns toward the open door and then slides out of the car, making it easier for disabled people to get into the vehicle from a wheelchair. The seat can be installed in 15 different models of Toyota vehicles.

Nissan Motor Co., meanwhile, showed off the Chair Cab van from its Lifecare Vehicle series, which enables wheelchair users to board through the back door. There are two variants of the Chair Cab: One has a fully automated lift that can handle loads of up to 170 kilograms to raise a wheelchair into the vehicle, while the other features a gently sloping wheelchair ramp supporting up to 200 kilograms that can be extended from the back of the vehicle to the ground. Other manufacturers like Daihatsu Motor Co. also exhibited barrier-free vehicles at the show.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport, which is also working to promote barrier-free vehicles, displayed some prototypes at the show. One of these, a barrier-free taxi, features a floor that is lower than usual so that the elderly and wheelchair users can board more easily. The nonstep bus, meanwhile, features a floor just 24 centimeters above the ground and has two spaces for wheelchairs inside. Buses are not usually an area of rapid growth in the vehicle market, but these new models are expected to sell very well. These vehicles will be evaluated until March 2003, and the results of the assessment will be used to standardize specifications for barrier-free vehicles.

Calling Up a Bus
A prototype of a bus system enabling passengers to get on and off using their mobile phones was also on display. The system, jointly developed by Hino Motors, Nippon Ericsson K.K., and KDDI Corp., uses Bluetooth wireless communication technology. Servers are positioned inside the bus and at stops and provide bus-stop and other information to passengers on their mobile phones as text, pictures, and sound. The system can send a signal to a passenger's phone to alert them when the bus is approaching their destination. Passengers can also pay their fares electronically through this system.

The technology is designed to help people who are not used to riding buses and the hearing impaired, and to provide information in English and other languages to non-Japanese who cannot understand the local language.

Growing Demand for Barrier-Free Vehicles
Since the Barrier Free Law was enacted in November 2000, there have been increasing moves to remove barriers to universal access from public and private means of transportation - train stations, road facilities, and cars.

Moreever, demand is growing for vehicles for the disabled: According to a survey by the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association, 16,394 vehicles for the disabled (excluding buses) were sold from April to September 2002, 8.8% more than in the same period the year before. Sales of nonstep and other barrier-free buses rose 21.8% to 1,852. These figures are a bright spot for vehicle manufacturers in a slow domestic market.