Is Uber Getting Self-Driving Cars?

2024 Author: Steven Freeman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 08:15

Not to be outdone by competitors, Uber has decided to take riding services to a whole other level.

The company will be testing self-driving cars later this month for passengers in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Travis Kalanick, Uber's co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, traveled to Pittsburgh in 2014 to build a team for the autonomous cars, reported Bloomberg.

With all the uncertainties from analysts, Kalanick stays optimistic. "We are going commercial," I've told Bloomberg Businessweek. "This can't just be about science."

Uber partnered with Volvo in a $ 300 million deal to build and implement the self-driving cars to be on the road by 2021. As scary as the idea may sound, “professional trained engineers,” will supervise from the driver's seat during the trials in Pittsburgh. In order to fix glitches, the co-pilot will take notes and the rides will be recorded on camera.

Volvo is set to deliver a total of 100 specially modified SUVs to Uber by the end of 2016.

Customers will request cars as they normally do on Uber's app, and driverless cars will be paired at random. The rides will start off at no charge during testing but in the long run, rates will be cheaper than a private car.

"That could be seen as a threat," said Volvo Cars CEO Hakan Samuelsson. "We see it as an opportunity."