Self-driving 'robotaxis' launch in downtown Las Vegas
Two companies teamed up to offer free self-driving rides
LAS VEGAS – Remember the futuristic world of "The Jetsons?" The cartoon showed us a new way to get around. Now, with the availability of what companies are calling "robotaxis," we may be inching closer to that world.
A driverless tech company and a transit software company have teamed up to launch free self-driving rides in downtown Las Vegas.
All a rider has to do is book through an app called Via.
Passengers can book a ride through the Via app. (Via)
The car itself has driverless features, but Motional, the company providing the robotaxis, has two people in the car at all times.
"Right now, we’re in manual, but once we make this right, when James feels it’s safe, he’ll push a button on the steering wheel and the car will go into auto," said a Motional safety operator in the car.
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Its hands-free features include detecting stoplights and other cars or people.
"They’re always alert. They’re never texting. They’re never under the influence," said Zeb Dawson, Motional's director of commercial operations. "It sees so much further ahead than what myself, if I was driving the car, might be able to see."
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The "robotaxis" can detect the surroundings of the car. (Ashley Soriano/Fox Business)
KC Colwell, the Car and Driver Magazine testing director, said the trend of self-driving cars has a long way to go before they’re fully autonomous.
"It's just going to be a really slow roll for this technology before it's really in people's hands and being used the way everyone wants it to be used," Colwell said.
Still, Motional has plans to launch a driverless robotaxi next year.
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"We see the impact of (autonomous vehicles) as being integrated into our cities as part of the public transportation system, as part of mass transit," said Chris Snyder, Via’s senior vice president of expansion.
For now, the robotaxis are only in Las Vegas, but the two companies hope to expand to other major cities.
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The robotaxis are also offered on the Las Vegas Strip through a different ride-sharing app, Lyft.
Motional recently announced a partnership with UberEats in the Los Angeles area.