Ford and Lyft are carrying self-sufficient vehicles to the rideshare application’s clients in Miami before the finish of 2021.
The two auto organizations previously reported their association to carry self-driving vehicles to the rideshare market in 2017 after Ford put $1 billion in independent vehicle startup Argo AI.
“This collaboration marks the first time all the pieces of the autonomous vehicle puzzle have come together this way,” Lyft co-founder and CEO Logan Green said in a statement Wednesday. “Each company brings the scale, knowledge and capability in their area of expertise that is necessary to make autonomous ride-hailing a business reality.”
Traveler rides with security drivers in the autonomous vehicles will start in Miami this year and in Austin beginning in 2022, as indicated by a public statement.
Ford and Lyft plan to convey 1,000 self-ruling vehicles for the ridesharing application in different urban communities throughout the following five years.
“We’re executing on a shared vision for improving the safety, access to and affordability of transportation in our cities,” Argo AI founder and CEO Bryan Salesky said. “Beyond the link that Lyft provides to the customer, we’ll be able to work together to define where an autonomous service will benefit communities the most and ensure we’re deploying the technology safely.”
Ford is promoting a “robust” presence in the two urban areas and Washington, D.C., including operations supporting commercial fleets’ fueling, cleaning and servicing needs, the press release says.
Scott Griffith, CEO of Ford’s autonomous vehicles & mobility businesses, said the automaker, Lyft and Argo AI all “share a belief that autonomous vehicles will be a key enabler for a cleaner, safer and more efficient urban mobility landscape.”
“This is the beginning of an important relationship between three dynamic companies ultimately ensuring a great experience for customers,” he said.
Lyft challenger Uber had additionally been trying self-driving vehicles as of late however offered its self-governing vehicle subsidiary to startup Aurora Technologies in December.
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