The Lean-Tastic Toyota i-Road Is An Awesome Way To Get Around A Big City

On the face of it, city-wide cycle schemes like London’s ubiquitous ‘Boris Bikes’ are a great idea. You pick up a bike from whichever cycle station you want, get to another and drop it off, without having to worry about locking it up or taking it home. But what if there was a similar scheme that offered a faster, safer and potentially more entertaining mode of transport that won’t leave you soaked if the heavens decide to open? Well, it turns out there is: the Toyota i-Road.

The i-Road itself is a single-seater, three-wheeled electric vehicle measuring 870mm across. So it’s as conveniently sized as a motorbike, but with an enclosed cockpit giving decent weather protection. Also like a motorbike, the steering is done through leaning, but it’s the vehicle that does the work for you, so there’s no risk of toppling over. The front two wheels move up and down independently, synchronised with the leaning.

The i-Road scheme has the back-up of a practical infrastructure, too. In cities where i-Road is rolled out, there’ll be a network of docking stations. Customers will simply turn up, get in an available i-Road, travel to the station nearest to their destination while enjoying dat lean, and drop the machine off.

70 i-Roads are currently operational, with trials taking place in Japan and Grenoble, France. If it came to your home city, would you give it a try?