Editor's Note: Today's blog features Keisuke Sogawa and Yuki Ito of Newmo Inc. They explore how Newmo has leveraged Google Maps Platform to build a mobility service from the ground up, aiming to solve Japan's critical transportation challenges through a mission of “A colorful journey with Newmo, aiming to unleash the potential of individuals and communities with new mobility services.”
Making the taxi industry sustainable through “responsible innovation”
In Japan, rapid aging, population decline, and the associated labor shortages have created serious transportation challenges. To address these issues, Newmo Inc. (Newmo) was established in January 2024, and launched taxi and ridesharing businesses, supported by the taxi dispatch app “Newmo.” Keisuke Sogawa, director and CTO of Newmo, explains the background behind the company's founding.
“The growing debate in summer 2023 on legalizing ridesharing to address Japan's driver shortage was the direct catalyst for founding Newmo. We decided to launch a company specializing in mobility, embedding the meaning of 'new mobility' into our name, Newmo. At its core is a strong desire to respond to societal needs by diversifying transportation to support communities. We have always prioritized the question 'What should we do?' over 'What do we want to do?'. Our Japan-style ridesharing service in Osaka, for instance, was launched to meet the urgent transportation needs for Expo 2025.”
Due to regulations, only taxi companies are allowed to provide ridesharing services in Japan. To overcome this hurdle, Newmo acquired existing taxi companies through M&A, enabling it to operate both traditional taxi and a Japan-style ridesharing service.
"Our company is deeply involved in the actual management of taxi companies," says Sogawa. "When trying to introduce new methods, people tend to impose them on those working in the field. We wanted to avoid such a one-sided approach. That’s why we chose to have taxi companies join our group and directly manage their operations to transform the whole industry into a more sustainable model. Realizing ‘responsible innovation’ is also part of our growth strategy."
Supporting the “lifeline” of local community
Sogawa emphasizes that this hands-on approach is crucial especially because small operators are the backbone of regional transport.
"In Japan, small taxi companies support local transportation and daily life. In other words, to secure local transportation, it is vital to support the viability of these companies through DX, IT, and management support. Since they operate 24/7, with customers relying on them daily, you cannot simply interrupt services to migrate an old on-premises system to the cloud. What is needed is not an idealistic approach, but a hands-on approach that involves working closely with each individual business operator, understanding the reality of their management, and solving problems together one by one."
Why Google Maps Platform is ideal for startups
To build its platform, Newmo implemented Google Cloud for its infrastructure and Google Maps Platform for navigation. Yuki Ito, an engineer at Newmo, reflects on the choice.
“As ‘Newmo’ is a mobility service, having access to excellent map data is a prerequisite. Ultimately, the key is to consolidate data in the cloud for monitoring and analysis. In this regard, Google Cloud was ideal as it offers a range of tools, including BigQuery, and integrates seamlessly with Google Maps Platform."
Ito also explains the specific advantages of Google Maps Platform for a fast-moving startup.
"In our proof of concept (PoC), we found that the SDKs and APIs with Google Maps Platform are all designed with mobile device development and use in mind. This focus on developers is also evident in the map data itself. Because icons for landmarks, buildings, and roads were already embedded in the data layers, we could focus solely on essential development tasks. For a startup like ours, there was no better option. And throughout the process, collaborative support from map solution specialist Goga, Inc. and Google Maps Platform was key, helping us launch the service in just three months. ”
High potential demonstrated post-launch
Currently, Newmo uses about 10 APIs and SDKs from Google Maps Platform, including Places Details API, Places Autocomplete, Routes API (Compute Routes and Compute Route Matrix), Navigation SDK, Nearby Search, and Fleet Engine API.
“Fleet Engine communicates smoothly with the application server even under heavy request loads, enabling efficient operations,” says Ito. “I was also impressed by how accurately the Compute Route Matrix works under actual traffic conditions. These calculations are computationally intensive, but Google Maps Platform handles the load on the cloud side, so we can operate with confidence. Even with a significant increase in operating vehicles, performance hardly degraded."
Sogawa also described how Google Maps Platform is beneficial when developing products for the taxi industry, especially for a newcomer to the sector like Newmo.
“The Google Maps Platform Mobility services we adopted allow us to pay usage fees based on actual revenue, with API calls billed per ride, making it easy to predict profitability. We developed an app for users and a backend system for taxi companies in parallel, and since we had no previous track record in the taxi industry, it was helpful that the pricing structure was clear and scalable.”
Furthermore, Sogawa sees the comprehensive solutions from Google as key to the modernization of the taxi industry. “With a Google Cloud account, you can authenticate everything from Google Maps Platform to Google Workspace for office tasks with a common SSO system. The integrated Google ecosystem, which connects these three product categories, can also serve as a stepping stone for taxi companies to gradually migrate legacy systems to the cloud and improve their business operations.”
Applying the same philosophy to the next challenge
Since its establishment, Newmo has rapidly expanded. The cumulative number of ridesharing driver applicants has surpassed 10,000, and the group now has more than 1,000 taxis, making it the third largest taxi company in Osaka. Looking ahead, Newmo has its sights set on a new goal: the launch of a Japan-originated autonomous driving taxi service.
“Issues such as a shortage of taxi drivers and bus drivers and the discontinuation of railway lines are becoming more serious in rural areas,” Sogawa concludes. “By leveraging the experience and business foundation we have cultivated through taxi and ridesharing, and by developing new core technologies and commercializing them using Google Maps Platform, we can revitalize rural regions in the medium to long term and enrich the lives of each individual. As a transportation service provider, we prioritize safety and will proceed with the introduction of new technologies in a phased manner, while addressing social issues. This is the foundation and mission of Newmo's establishment.”
