From Tire Review

Bridgestone Corp., the official tire partner of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, has helped produce a new solution that will deliver barrier-less bus access in the newly-constructed athlete village for the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020.

Bridgestone is working with a collaborative group in Japan to develop a new curbstone design that allows buses to pull closer to the curb. The design of the curb includes a specially-engineered slope that more smoothly interacts with the shape of the tire to decrease tire sidewall wear and vibration. It can also be customized to fit common tire and vehicle sizes that use a specific curb location. The result is a significantly smaller gap between the curb and bus entrance.

The new barrier-less docking system was first introduced in Okayama, Japan, in June and is now being adopted by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. The first installation in Tokyo will be completed in February 2020 in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Village. The installation will include nearly 1,300 feet of curb designed to accommodate a wide variety of tire and vehicle sizes.

Bridgestone does not manufacture nor sell the product but has been responsible for its primary design, testing and verification as part of a collaboration with Yokohama National University, the Japan Transportation Planning Association, and Advance Co., Ltd.