Motional, a joint venture between the Aptiv-Hyundai companies, has launched a new service in Las Vegas with on-demand and transit tech.
Members of the public will be able to take free rides in self-drive vehicles in downtown Las Vegas through a partnership between the two companies. The human safety operators will be behind the wheel.
The launch of the service was pushed back because of the uncertainty of the COVID-19 epidemic. Motional and Via initially planned to develop a blueprint for on-demand shared robotaxis and learn how they could be integrated into mass transit. Motional confirmed that the companies have scrapped plans for a shared service.
The new service comes just a few months after Motional announced plans to start a ride-sharing program with Lyft in Las Vegas. Members of the public will be able to book one of Motional's IONIQ 5-based robotaxis through the Lyft app by the second half of this year, when Motional and Lyft aim to begin offering free rides without a driver in the car.
Motional and Via are both offering free rides. Motional can charge for rides in Nevada.
California has more regulations for audiovisuals than Nevada. Nevada does not distinguish between testing or operating with a human safety operator onboard or without, and its legislation does not mention the use of audiovisuals as a service. The Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles says that companies can technically charge for commercial audiovisual services there. The new legislation is being drafted.
Motional says it has a permit that allows it to charge for fares, as it does with its existing drivered Lyft service in Las Vegas, but did not elaborate on whether that permit was related to the company's taxi service or not.
Motional and Via are offering free rides to promote the service and to collect rider feedback so they can study how their tech works together, according to a spokeswoman for Motional. Motional looks forward to learning from the pilot and expanding its partnership with Via in the future.
Motional/Via is an image.
Passengers will be able to book one of Motional's self-driving BMW 5-series robotaxis on the Via app starting Thursday. The company is still using its Chrysler Pacificas for testing, but the fleets for both services will be separate.
The Via service will be open from Monday to Friday. Motional says that Via will show passengers at select points downtown, including the RTC Bonneville Transit Center, Las Vegas City Hall, Container Park, Las Vegas Arts District and Clark County Government Center.
Motional's self-driving robotaxis, fleet management and in-vehicle passenger experience are powered by Via's intelligent booking, routing and software application technology.
The vehicle will take the most efficient route at that time, based on the passenger pick-up/drop-off request.
Motional would not reveal the size of the fleet it is operating with Via in Las Vegas, but O'Malley said the companies will be closely monitoring demand and have the foundation to scale the service in the future.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
