The limited-time self-driving Kururi bus loops around central Tottori City for free, linking Wakasa Street, the Tottori Castle Ruins, and the prefectural office area.
Limited-Time Trial: Tottori's Kururi Autonomous Bus Runs Free for 8 Days from February 15
WILLER Inc. and Tier IV Inc. will work with Tottori City, Hinomaru Motor Co. and Nihon Kotsu Co. on a trial introducing autonomous bus service. The demonstration is scheduled for February 16 to 18 and February 21 to 25, with the goal of moving toward Level 4 autonomous driving in 2025. For the trial, Tottori City will use the Kururi loop bus, a city circulator used by about 300,000 passengers a year. The autonomous service will operate on part of the Kururi green route, running in a loop from Tottori Bus Terminal to Wakasa Kaido, the courthouse area, the Tottori Castle Ruins area, Tottori Prefectural Office, back along Wakasa Kaido and returning to Tottori Bus Terminal. Route of the Kururi autonomous bus. Image source: WILLER Inc. Travelers who want to try the service can reserve a free ride through the WILLER website in Japanese. Participants must be elementary-school age or older, and photography or video recording is not allowed inside the bus. On February 16, departures are scheduled at 14:20, 15:00 and 15:35. On other trial dates, there will be eight departures per day between 11:00 and 16:10. The ride takes about 24 minutes. Applications open on January 29. After this experimental autonomous-driving program, the city plans to consider future routes starting and ending at Tottori Station Bus Terminal, covering both everyday local transport and sightseeing areas.