Uber To Offer Free Rides In Its Self-Driving Cars This Month
It is no surprise that the ride hailing service (Uber, Lyft, Ride, etc…) that wants to win the war needs to have self-driving cars. Today, having human drivers is the only way to go, but this will surely change. Imagine a fleet of cars that has flawless (mostly, and surely to improve with time) drivers, zero distractions from smartphones or passengers, and drives without a paycheck. That is the future of ride hailing. Uber knows this and is pushing hard to make this a reality.
They are the closest to making self-driving cars the next taxis. In the coming weeks, Pittsburgh customers can request an autonomous ride (a Volvo XC90). While the car will do all of the driving, there will be two humans sitting up front documenting, videoing, and making sure things go smoothly. The best part is that these rides will be free during the test phase.