Hail a certain cab in Saga Prefecture and you'll be offered freshly brewed coffee from a machine in the vehicle.

Drink as much as you like: It's free.

The service began operating last month and is drawing acclaim from passengers.

The nine-seat "Barista Taxi" has a coffee machine beside the driver's seat. The driver serves up the brew in local specialty Arita porcelain cups.

"We'd like to treat customers with the aroma of coffee and entertain them while traveling," Arita Taxi President Shigetoshi Mieda said.

The taxi, operated by Arita Taxi, is available upon reservation. It mainly services groups of tourists or locals traveling between Saga airport and the town of Arita, the company said.

The taxi service was launched after Arita Taxi approached the local chamber of commerce and beverage maker Nestle Japan Ltd. with the plan around January last year, when the two parties were planning to make a line of original Arita coffee cups, the company said.