No more flats: Japan starts testing air-free bus tires
A trial of new puncture-proof airless tires developed by Bridgestone Corp. began Saturday, with a ceremony in the central Japan city of Toyama held to mark their first use on a local electric bus, Kyodo reports
It was the first time the bus, fitted with AirFree tires developed by the Japanese tire giant, drove on a public road with passengers aboard. The tires use recyclable resin spokes to help reduce maintenance and improve efficiency.
The first bus departed Toyama Station carrying local residents on Saturday morning, with officials from the city and Bridgestone in attendance.
The bus, named Boule BaaS, travels at less than 20 kilometers per hour and can carry nine passengers.
Bridgestone said that the blue spokes of the tire are designed for high visibility even in low light, which it believes will be a safety improvement over conventional tires.
Yoshinori Iwabuchi, head of Bridgestone's AirFree development division, said the company hopes to gather information from the trial and use it to roll out the technology over the next year.
Earlier, the Japanese police amended rules to allow officers to use rifles against bears.