Tokyo, November 27, 2024 – A refuse truck deployed by a waste collection company in Japan’s Aomori prefecture equipped with an Allison fully automatic transmission has been operating smoothly and trouble-free for 14 years, helping to improve the company’s operating efficiency. The truck is a medium-duty Hino Ranger GD model equipped with the Allison 2000 Series^TM transmission.

Towada Environmental Service Co., Ltd., located in the city of Towada, Aomori prefecture, deployed the Allison transmission-equipped refuse truck in 2010, and although the vehicle has been driven a total of almost 380,000km, it has never experienced any major transmission issues. Despite collecting and transporting 30 to 40 truckloads of commercial waste each day and making frequent starts and stops, the vehicle continues to run smoothly. Transmission maintenance is limited to periodic transmission fluid and filter changes, and, unlike manual vehicles, there has been no need to replace the clutch, helping to reduce maintenance costs and minimize vehicle downtime.

Refuse trucks are equipped with a power take-off unit (PTO), which transfers engine power to auxiliary components on the trucks when they are stationery, such as the garbage compressors. With manual transmissions, the driver has to manually engage the PTO each time the vehicle stops and disengage it before the vehicle starts again. In trucks equipped with Allison transmissions, the PTO engages automatically each time the vehicle stops, and “P” or “N” is selected on the gearbox. When the driver subsequently selects “D” or “R” before starting, the PTO automatically disengages. This frees up driver time and improves efficiency.

“The Allison fully automatic transmission not only simplifies PTO operation, but it also makes it easier to for the driver to operate the vehicle, especially when the truck starts on a slope,” said Mr. Shinya Takeuchi, Director, Towada Environmental Services. “In addition to the robustness and durability of the transmission itself, our Allison service dealer, Toh-oh Diesel, contacts us frequently to check the condition of the vehicle and also recommends regular maintenance, performing this promptly. We have been able to build a relationship of trust with them over the years and can rely on them. This means the vehicle will continue to run without any problems, and without needing to be replaced, for the foreseeable future.”

To help address the so-called “2024 problem” in Japan’s transportation industry, whereby maximum hours behind the wheel are now being regulated, compounding a nationwide shortage of drivers, in April 2026, automatic transmission-only licenses will be introduced for drivers of medium-duty trucks. Commercial vehicle manufacturers are increasing the range of vehicles available with automatic transmissions, and their adoption by transportation operators is expected to increase in the future. Mr. Takeuchi added that while it normally takes one month to train a new driver, the training period for those operating vehicles equipped with automatic transmissions is shorter, allowing them to perform their jobs more quickly and easily.