Toyota plans to test its innovative i-Road city vehicle on the city of Grenoble in France. Not as a test mule for eventual production, but as a test of a new type of public transport.

The idea would be that you are able to book a Toyota i-Road at one of the electrical charging stations around the city, and then drive it to the charging station closest to your destination and leave it there for the next person to use.

Book a Toyota i-Road with your phone

The entire experience of booking and picking up the i-Road is done via a smartphone app. The app will also give you up to the minute info on traffic and offer options for quickest routes. What theoretically could be done is to drive to a Toyota i-Road station in your car, pick up the 3-wheeled electric i-Road and then negotiate the heavier traffic sections of your journey in the city vehicle as a bike would. This may even be faster than public transport and certainly less crowded.

Two-seater twin electric

The Toyota i-Road is actually a two-seater with two electric motors powering it. It has a max range of 50km if driven at a steady 30 kph and weighs just 300 kg. The real-life test will begin in Grenoble – France with 30 charging stations being scattered around the city. Watch the videos below to see what the Toyota i-Road is all about and how itplans to put it into action in Grenoble, France.

Toyota i-Road Trials video

Toyota’s Transport system Video