We will see…
Lyft with Motional said today they will launch their fully driverless vehicles on the Lyft network in 2023 in multiple US cities. This is the first promised deployment partnership between a rideshare company and a driverless technology provider for transportation. Motional will develop and manage the fleet of driverless cars with an” integrated driverless system with no one behind the wheel, while Lyft will provide the “rideshare network and rider experience.”
Lyft with abundant self-interest and General Motors backing claims a rideshare network is “vastly important to making AVs become a reality.” This thesis in search of proof will balance AVs operating on Lyft’s network with human drivers and other options including bikes, scooters, and transit. Lyft claims it can ensure riders always have reliable transportation options regardless of where they need to travel. Lyft also claims that riders want a ride to arrive within minutes of requesting one and it’ll take years for AVs to reach the scale and technological sophistication needed to meet this service level for all ride scenarios. Rideshare networks might be where riders experience self-driving technology for the first time.
“After pioneering a self-driving pilot with Motional for the last three years, it’s fitting that our first commercial open platform deployment partnership for driverless cars would be with them,” said Raj Kapoor, Lyft’s CSO and head of AV business. “This partnership represents a shared mobility vision, where human drivers and self-driving cars work together to empower people to get where they need to go, without having to own a car.”
“We’re at the frontier of transportation innovation, moving robo-taxis from research to road,” claimed Karl Iagnemma, President and CEO, Motional. “We’re partnering with Lyft to do exactly that.”
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
Lyft and Motional to Deploy Fully Self-Driving Vehicles in 2023
We will see…
Lyft with Motional said today they will launch their fully driverless vehicles on the Lyft network in 2023 in multiple US cities. This is the first promised deployment partnership between a rideshare company and a driverless technology provider for transportation. Motional will develop and manage the fleet of driverless cars with an” integrated driverless system with no one behind the wheel, while Lyft will provide the “rideshare network and rider experience.”
Lyft with abundant self-interest and General Motors backing claims a rideshare network is “vastly important to making AVs become a reality.” This thesis in search of proof will balance AVs operating on Lyft’s network with human drivers and other options including bikes, scooters, and transit. Lyft claims it can ensure riders always have reliable transportation options regardless of where they need to travel. Lyft also claims that riders want a ride to arrive within minutes of requesting one and it’ll take years for AVs to reach the scale and technological sophistication needed to meet this service level for all ride scenarios. Rideshare networks might be where riders experience self-driving technology for the first time.
“After pioneering a self-driving pilot with Motional for the last three years, it’s fitting that our first commercial open platform deployment partnership for driverless cars would be with them,” said Raj Kapoor, Lyft’s CSO and head of AV business. “This partnership represents a shared mobility vision, where human drivers and self-driving cars work together to empower people to get where they need to go, without having to own a car.”
“We’re at the frontier of transportation innovation, moving robo-taxis from research to road,” claimed Karl Iagnemma, President and CEO, Motional. “We’re partnering with Lyft to do exactly that.”
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn. He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe. Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap. AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks. Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.