Photo: Chevrolet
There is probably nobody more excited about the prospect of self-driving cars than ride-hailing companies such as Lyft or Uber. Not having to depend on human drivers would free them of a lot of legal issues (see Uber's numerous trials, for instance) as well as make the whole enterprise more profitable.
GM, on the other hand, has its horns locked with other car manufacturers in the race to build the best autonomous car, and it's facing some serious contenders. Earlier this year, the American giant purchased San Francisco-based Cruise Atuomation Inc. for the round sum of $1 billion. As the name suggests, Cruise Automation specializes in autonomous driving technology, and should provide a massive boost for GM.
Lyft and GM are going to run a pilot program involving the soon-to-be-released Chevrolet Bolt EV equipped with self-driving technology based on Cruise Automation's expertise. The two companies haven't disclosed the city where this test runs will take place, but more information will become available as we get closer to the launching date.
The best part about this venture is that the autonomous Chevy Bolts will actually be working - and by that we mean that they'll be carrying passengers. That's a very bold step on GM's part which is still a novice (compared to others) in this field, but taking risks is how things move forward. However, the Lyft clients won't be left in the dark about the absence of a driver, but will have the choice of opting in or out of the pilot by using the Lyft app on their phones, Wall Street Journal reports.
Even though a lot of important details are still missing, the two companies insist the program will be up and running within a year. Besides the obvious benefits for Lyft and GM, this program might provide another interesting insight: we would be very curious to know how many Lyft users will go for the driverless option. This would be a very good indication of where we're standing regarding the population's perception of driverless cars. Who knows, maybe Lyft will see fit to make this data public eventually.
Lyft and GM are going to run a pilot program involving the soon-to-be-released Chevrolet Bolt EV equipped with self-driving technology based on Cruise Automation's expertise. The two companies haven't disclosed the city where this test runs will take place, but more information will become available as we get closer to the launching date.
The best part about this venture is that the autonomous Chevy Bolts will actually be working - and by that we mean that they'll be carrying passengers. That's a very bold step on GM's part which is still a novice (compared to others) in this field, but taking risks is how things move forward. However, the Lyft clients won't be left in the dark about the absence of a driver, but will have the choice of opting in or out of the pilot by using the Lyft app on their phones, Wall Street Journal reports.
Even though a lot of important details are still missing, the two companies insist the program will be up and running within a year. Besides the obvious benefits for Lyft and GM, this program might provide another interesting insight: we would be very curious to know how many Lyft users will go for the driverless option. This would be a very good indication of where we're standing regarding the population's perception of driverless cars. Who knows, maybe Lyft will see fit to make this data public eventually.
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