Editor's Note: Today's blog features Tsuyoshi Nagahashi of Community Mobility Inc. and Taiki Kudo of Nomura Research Institute, Ltd. As Japan faces the challenges of an aging society and a declining birthrate, rural transportation has emerged as a critical issue. While the demand for public transit grows, a severe driver shortage is threatening the sustainability of regional life. Community Mobility is tackling these social gaps by leveraging Google Maps Platform to power its on-demand shared transit service, “mobi.” We spoke with them about the project's overview and how they are utilizing technology to ensure reliable mobility for communities across Japan.
“Last mile” service solving the growing “transportation deserts”
Community Mobility was established in 2022 as a joint venture between WILLER Co., Ltd., which operates transportation services including intercity buses and regional railways, and KDDI Corporation, a major telecommunications company.
It develops and operates “mobi,” a shared on-demand transportation service, as a solution for the “last mile” — the final leg of travel connecting major transportation hubs to final destinations. Tsuyoshi Nagahashi, executive officer of the product division, points out that this initiative responds to societal changes.
“During Japan's period of rapid economic growth, transportation networks beyond railways, such as route buses and taxis, were well developed. However, in recent years, route bus services have been discontinued or reduced because of the aging society,” Nagahashi explains. “As more elderly residents return their driver’s licenses, they’re forced to rely on taxis or family members even for everyday activities such as going to the hospital or shopping. For the younger generation in rural areas, securing transportation has also become an urgent need. The growing number of ‘transportation deserts’ is becoming an increasing concern.”
Tsuyoshi Nagahashi, Executive Officer of the Product Division, Community Mobility
Human mobility data and safety management know-how for the B2G2C model
In 2024, Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism established the “Transportation Gap Resolution Headquarters” to address driver shortages in rural areas.
Community Mobility has rolled out “mobi,” a shared on-demand transportation service accessible nationwide by both phone and app, in line with this initiative. It has recently focused on projects launching services in collaboration with municipalities.
“Our company has fundamentally operated a B2C business model,” Nagahashi says. “However, we've recently increased initiatives under a separate ‘B2G2C model,’ where we co-design and operate mobility systems with municipalities, aligning with public transportation regulations and tailoring services to each community’s needs."
Developing public ride-sharing and shared on-demand transportation
Community Mobility began new service development in April 2024 with Nomura Research Institute. In January 2025, a ride-sharing service operated by drivers holding a Class 1 driver’s license (standard license) commenced. In April of the same year, the new operational platform developed by Community Mobility was also introduced for a shared taxi service. This service is provided by drivers holding a Class 2 driver’s license (commercial license), which is now one of Japan’s largest shared taxi services.
Nagahashi explains the series of development efforts as follows.
“From a business perspective, the key challenge was how to incorporate the requests of each municipality,” he says. “We needed to differentiate the service between areas with high and low demand for rides, accommodate requests to support not only shared rides but also single rides, and consider existing public transportation.”
In selecting the practical solution, stable operation was key.
"We evaluated multiple solutions and system stability was the most critical factor, especially in rural areas, where public transportation services are vital,” Nagahashi explains. “Google Maps Platform demonstrated significantly higher uptime compared to other solutions we evaluated, leading to its adoption."
It also brought secondary benefits to service development.
“Our engineering team no longer needs to spend time on maintenance or troubleshooting the operational infrastructure,” he adds. “This allows them to focus on the development they should be prioritizing: enhancing our unique added value and improving convenience. The reliability of the system was highly beneficial for our sales team and has become a key selling point for our services.”
Ensuring reliability through granular parameters and high accuracy
Currently, Community Mobility's “shared taxi service operated by Class 2 drivers” and “ride-sharing service operated by Class 1 drivers” utilize various APIs, including Mobility Services from Google Maps Platform. Crucial components are the Route Optimization and Routes API, which match passenger orders with dispatches while ensuring operations run on schedule.
”Google Maps Platform was extremely convenient because it allows detailed parameter settings,” Nagahashi says. “For example, since elderly passengers take longer to board and alight, even if the map data indicates 10 minutes, we set the required time to 12 minutes. For such adjustment tasks, we utilized data held by the municipality and our group, while also receiving continued support from Navagis, which has extensive experience assisting with Google Maps Platform implementations.”
Taiki Kudo, senior associate at the Communication Platform Business Department, Communication & Service Solutions Division, Nomura Research Institute, who developed the system with Nagahashi, commented on the high accuracy.
"Google Maps Platform provides all the necessary development tools, so once we cleared the parameter settings, development progressed smoothly,” Kudo says. “However, due to the short development cycle, I think drivers were worried about whether they could truly reach their destinations in the displayed time. But this turned out not to be an issue. While there were minor issues, overall, we were relieved to see that route guidance was provided with sufficient accuracy for drivers to actually operate the service."
Taiki Kudo, Senior Associate at the Communication Platform Business Department, Communication & Service Solutions Division, Nomura Research Institute
Operating multiple services to solve future transportation challenges
Although the service utilizing Google Maps Platform only began in 2025, it has already delivered significant results.
"The shared taxi service I mentioned earlier used to handle dispatch orders by phone until the end of March 2025,” Nagahashi explains. “With the new system, it can now handle an average of approximately 190 ride dispatches per day. Stabilizing operations and increasing dispatch capacity have also helped avoid issues like refund disputes."
Meanwhile, ride-sharing has also extended the service operation possibilities.
"Multiple municipalities share information about drivers offering public ride-sharing, enabling more flexible operations for local communities,” he adds. “This system also creates opportunities for drivers to earn income during free time or personal trips. Such services are not yet common in Japan."
Addressing the rapidly increasing transportation gaps in Japan's rural areas, Nagahashi has already set his sights on the next steps for new business development.
“We anticipate that the number of municipalities facing transportation challenges will continue to grow,” Nagahashi explains. “Japan has approximately 1,700 municipalities. To make services sustainable, especially in sparsely populated rural areas, it’s also essential to establish monetization structures. In this regard, too, we aim to collaborate with municipalities and leverage our operational infrastructure, incorporating Google Maps Platform to provide solutions to even broader regions.”
