US ride-hailing company Uber Technologies Inc. and manufacturer of driverless vehicles Motional announced on Wednesday that their public robotaxi service has begun in Las Vegas.
Investors are concerned because the deployment of robotaxi services has been delayed due to strict regulatory scrutiny and a delay in the commercial acceptance of autonomous vehicle technology.
The deployment in Los Angeles is planned to happen after the debut as part of a non-exclusive 10-year deal between the two businesses for driverless cars.
For Uber and its Uber Eats branch, Motional’s autonomous vehicles would also transport both passengers and delivery products under the multi-market agreement.
Riders are not yet being charged as part of the early launch, but Uber indicated that they expect to start charging for their driverless commercial debut.
Although the businesses claimed that they would have car operators for the time being, they aim to make a totally driverless experience available to the general public by 2023.
Uber will match the rider to the nearest open autonomous car and present them with an opt-in offer prior to the autonomous trip being confirmed and a driver being dispatched to pick up the passenger.
Uber is once more pursuing its robotaxi ambitions after taking a brief break after selling its autonomous car research division to San Francisco-based firm Aurora in 2020.
A 10-year agreement has also been reached between Uber and the autonomous vehicle startup Nuro for the use of Nuro’s driverless delivery pods in Texas and California.
Competitor Lyft stated last month that it would launch its robotaxi service in Los Angeles after launching it in Las Vegas earlier this year.
