In Austin, Texas, ride-sharing companies are now offering public chauffeured services. After Miami, this is the second city in which the two companies are operating a commercial taxi service.
The company said in a post that riders in Austin will be able to choose a self-guided commute in the app for the same price as a regular ride. Customers will be able to start the ride and contact customer support with the help of the app. Since there will be two humans sitting in the driver's and passenger seats to watch the ride, it might feel weird.
The image is from the ride sharing service, Lyft.
The companies, along with Ford, previously announced a plan to launch at least 1000 self-driving vehicles in a number of cities over the next five years. It's likely that the launch has been kicked into high gear since Cruise announced plans to launch its own service in Austin before the year is out. As it scales in an effort to grow revenue, Cruise is pursuing a launch in Phoenix, Arizona, where it will be able to offer delivery services.
San Francisco, where other competitors like Zoox have focused operations, and where Cruise launched a fully self-driving commercial service this summer, has largely been avoided by both companies. The companies homed in on other U.S. cities with friendlier regulatory environments.
In Las Vegas, Motional launched a fleet of all-electric Ioniq 5-based robotaxis for ride-sharing.
The companies aren't sharing the hours of operation in Austin yet, but an Argo spokesman said its fleet of Ford Escape hybrid would be operating during "day time hours." When it comes to removing the safety driver for commercial operations in either Miami or Austin, the companies wouldn't say, but they have been testing fully self-drive operations in both cities since May.
The removal of the driver would depend on a number of factors, including safety performance data, community acceptance and the regulatory environment, according to a spokesman for the company.
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