Toyota partner of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, announced that to support the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020, it is developing a special new product, the “APM (Accessible People Mover)”, a mobility vehicle designed expressly for use at the Games. The APM takes this challenge to the maximum degree, offering a “last one mile” solution that helps transport as many people as possible to events and venues, including athletes and staff related to the Games as well as all types of visitors with accessibility needs such as the elderly, people with impairments, pregnant women, and families with small children, among others. It is also anticipated that part of the fleet of APMs will be used to support relief activities at events/venues during summer. During the Games, Toyota will employ approximately 200 APMs to support the transportation of visitors and staff around various facilities.
The “Basic Model” supports more event attendance, provide “last one mile” transportation: it is a low-speed, short-distance battery electric vehicle (BEV) suitable for the transportation of visitors and staff within large event/venue grounds. The APM will feature three-row seating. In the first row will be the driver’s seat, the second row provides seating for three and when used for passengers in wheelchairs, the configuration can be modified by folding the seats to allow the wheelchair rider in the second row. With safety in mind, the position of the driver’s seat has been elevated and centrally located in order to allow the driver to see passengers and support their individual needs as they enter/exit the vehicle. Passenger seats are accessible from both sides of the vehicle, and the overall design considers varying customers’ needs, with safety bars on both sides to help passengers while entering and exiting the vehicle, and fitted with wheelchair anchor plates and ramps to enable the optimal access and transportation of wheelchair passengers.
