Motional and Lyft will launch a robotaxi service in Los Angeles

Motional's robotaxis will be available to hail through the app in Los Angeles.

The service is comprised of Motional's fleet of electric vehicles, which will be fully self-sufficient at the time of launch.

The company wouldn't say when the service will start. A Motional spokesman said that they plan to reveal when they are ready to launch. It is likely that LA residents won't be able to hail one of the company's vehicles until at least January.

Los Angeles will be Motional and Lyft's second market after launching a service in Las Vegas. Motional says that when the service goes live, it will be the first time that residents in Los Angeles can request an autonomously driving vehicle.

Los Angeles will be Motional and Lyft's second market after launching a service in Las Vegas.

LA is not a new place for the companies. Since last year, Motional has been testing its vehicles there. In 2016 the company opened an office in Los Angeles.

Motional needs all of its permits in order to accept passengers. A series of permits from the Department of Motor Vehicles and Public Utilities Commission are required before a company can accept money for trips.

Motional applied for a permit from the California Department of Motor Vehicles. Motional has been testing in Southern California for over a year and we will be working with local partners to expand our activity. Ahead of the commercial launch, we expect to be able to charge for rides.

Motional applied for a permit from the California Department of Motor Vehicles.

When Motional was announced in March 2020, it was said that it would cost $1.6 billion to catch up to its rivals in the field of self-drive vehicles. Since then, the spend has grown to $4 billion. In addition to testing its vehicles in Boston and Pittsburgh, the company has facilities in Las Vegas, Singapore, and South Korea.

The company is positioning itself as a platform in which customers can arrange rides in self-drive vehicles. The ride-sharing company sold its research and development division to a subsidiary of Toyota. Since then, they have struck deals with a number of companies.

Motional has a 10-year, multi-market deal with Uber, though it hasn't said where and when it will launch.