Dec 16, 2020 - Economy

Lyft to offer self-driving taxis in several cities in 2023

Joann Muller

Image of a Motional self-driving car in Las Vegas — A self-driving Lyft in Las Vegas. Photo courtesy of Motional

Autonomous vehicles will be available on Lyft's ride-sharing network in multiple U.S. cities beginning in 2023, Lyft and self-driving tech company Motional announced Wednesday.

Why it matters: It represents a potential milestone in the commercial rollout of self-driving technology, which AV developers say will lead to safer, lower-cost transportation.

The announcement comes less than two weeks after rival Uber pulled the plug on AV development, selling its self-driving unit to Aurora, which could one day deploy robotaxis on the Uber network.

Details: Motional, a joint venture between Hyundai and Aptiv, will integrate its next-generation self-driving Hyundais into the Lyft network in several unnamed cities.

The vehicles will be equipped with sensors, computers, and software to enable fully-driverless operation and remote vehicle assistance.
Lyft will be responsible for the rideshare network and customer experience.
A small fleet of self-driving test vehicles (with a human safety driver) have been available on the Lyft network in Las Vegas for several years.
Last month, Motional received permission from the state of Nevada to remove the driver from those cars.

The bottom line: After years of hype, autonomous vehicles could find a path to market within a few years.

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Lyft to offer self-driving taxis in several cities in 2023

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