FUKUSHIMA – Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. is set to pick a driverless electric bus made by a SoftBank Group Corp. unit to transport those decommissioning its disaster-crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant, informed sources said.
The bus service will start this spring, transporting workers within the plant, which was disabled by a triple core meltdown after the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
Last November, Tepco conducted a test of the bus made by SB Drive Corp., the SoftBank unit, and another from DeNA Co.
As a result, Tepco decided to adopt SB Drive’s bus, giving it high marks for safety and ease of maintenance, the sources said.
The bus, called the Arma, is 4.75 meters long and can hold 15 passengers. It travels at a maximum speed of 45 kph. Tepco is now discussing the number of buses it will use and the route they will take.