Uber unveils new services as it prepares to bring robotaxis to L.A. soon

Uber announced a caller acceptable of services to enactment ride-hailing for autonomous vehicles up of its planned motorboat of robotaxis successful Los Angeles successful the coming months.

Uber’s caller program, called Uber Autonomous Solutions, aims to springiness robotaxi ventures casual entree to Uber’s customers, bundle and infrastructure.

Participating companies would get entree to Uber’s platform, 1 of the astir wide utilized ride-hailing apps successful the world, arsenic good arsenic unsocial information Uber has collected from engaged streets and pickup areas.

“When partners plug into Uber’s network, they tin standard much efficiently, run much reliably, and determination faster,” said Sarfraz Maredia, Uber’s planetary caput of autonomous mobility and delivery.

Under a concern with Volkswagen announced past year, Uber plans to connection a self-driving taxi web for shared rides that shuttle aggregate passengers. It said that it plans to motorboat the work successful Los Angeles aboriginal this year, and investigating has begun.

The institution said that the ride-hailing work volition usage an autonomous electrical minivan from Volkswagen called the ID. Buzz. The effort volition trust connected autonomous exertion from the Volkswagen-owned tech marque MOIA.

The Volkswagen-Uber concern could beryllium 1 of galore — Uber’s announcement this week outlined a scope of tools and bundle it’s offering to companies looking to standard autonomous conveyance operations.

“Uber has pulled unneurotic a full clump of tools that volition marque it easier for robotaxi developers oregon robotaxi conveyance owners to bring their vehicles to the Uber platform,” said car expert Brian Moody. “Most of them don’t truly privation to beryllium successful the concern of owning and operating the vehicles.”

Uber isn’t caller to the autonomous conveyance space. It attempted to make its ain AV but gave up successful 2020. The institution is present leaning toward a exemplary successful which different companies make the exertion for robotaxis and Uber makes wealth from them done its app.

Uber already has a concern with the Mountain View-based autonomous ride-hailing institution Waymo. In Austin and Atlanta, customers tin publication a Waymo conveyance done the Uber app,

The San Francisco-based Uber is besides preparing to motorboat a robotaxi successful collaboration with Lucid, a Silicon Valley-based electrical conveyance maker, and Nuro, an artificial quality company. The companies did not accidental wherever the robotaxi would beryllium archetypal available, but said it would motorboat successful precocious 2026.

In a quality merchandise from Nuro, the institution described the conveyance arsenic the “industry’s astir luxurious robotaxi.” It volition diagnostic an Uber-built bundle interface for riders that’s besides offered arsenic portion of Uber Autonomous Solutions.

“Autonomous exertion has singular imaginable to marque proscription safer and much affordable,” said Uber Chief Executive Dara Khosrowshahi successful a connection Monday. “For much than a decade, Uber has helped acceptable the modular for on-demand mobility.”

This month, Uber announced it would walk $100 cardinal to physique fast-charging stations for electrical autonomous vehicles successful Los Angeles, the Bay Area and Dallas. The determination further solidified Uber’s committedness to the robotaxi market.

Uber isn’t the lone 1 successful the contention to get much robotaxis connected the road.

Waymo is among the apical players successful the robotaxi industry, with afloat driverless services operating successful astir 10 cities. Waymo arrived successful Los Angeles successful 2024.

Elon Musk has besides been trying to interruption into the manufacture with his Tesla robotaxi, which began serving customers successful Austin successful the summer. In March, Tesla took a measurement toward autonomous conveyance services successful California by applying for a transportation-related permit.