Driverless taxi debuts in Tokyo in 'world first' trial ahead of Olympics

Minivan equipped with sensors makes four round-trips a day on a busy stretch of road, picking up paying passengers

A self-driving taxi has successfully taken paying passengers through the busy streets of Tokyo, raising the prospect that the service will be ready in time to ferry athletes and tourists between sports venues and the city centre during the 2020 Summer Olympics.

ZMP, a developer of autonomous driving technology, and the taxi company Hinomaru Kotsu, claim that the road tests, which began this week, are the first in the world to involve driverless taxis and fare-paying passengers.