Nissan will loan ten Nissan NV200 Combi taxis to several taxi operators in the Tohoku region of Japan at no cost. This will help to improve public access to transportation in areas which have been affected by the recent major earthquake and natural disasters.
The taxi companies have been designated for this role by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) in association with the "Utilization and demonstration project of new easy access vehicles in areas affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake".
The project is part of the efforts to develop and promote new types of easy access vehicles, which includes the Universal Design Taxi, which will be launched in areas devastated by the recent natural disasters. The aim is to both improve public access to transportation in the affected areas and highlight the benefits associated with new easy access vehicles. The Nissan NV200 Combi Taxis will be delivered to the affected areas in the Autumn of this year.
“We are proud to support the MLIT project by providing Nissan’s NV200 Combi Taxis,” said Nissan Corporate Vice President Hideto Murakami, who is responsible for the Global LCV Business Unit. "Our hope is that they will be used to help people in the affected area and, as we go forward, lead to widespread adoption of the Universal Design Taxi nationwide."
The Nissan NV200 Combi Taxi, on sale in Japan since the end of 2010 provides a taxi for everyone, regardless of age, gender and ability, to include children, elderly people and wheelchair users. The Nissan NV200 has been designed to be part of an easy access public transportation infrastructure.
The Nissan NV200 provides spacious rear seating and a host of features that enable smooth and easy access and comfortable driving for long periods and was awarded the "Universal Design Award", which is one of the most coveted awards in universal design, as well as the "Universal Design Consumer's Favourite Award" in March 2011, the first time in the automotive industry where one vehicle has been presented with both awards.
In May 2011, the Nissan NV200 Combi - which forms the basis of the NV200 Combi Taxi - was selected as the next-generation taxi for New York city.
