Uber is partnering with the self-driving car company, Cruise, to bring driverless rides through the popular e-hailing app. The 2 companies had announced their multi year partnership on Thursday 22 August, with plans to to launch some time next year.
Dara Khosrowshahi, Uber’s CEO shared, “As the largest mobility and delivery platform, we believe Uber can play an important role in helping to safely and reliably introduce autonomous technology to consumers and cities around the world. We’re thrilled to partner with Cruise and look forward to launching next year.”
This partnership speaks towards Uber’s long time journey looking at different self-driving vehicle companies, such as when they teamed up with Waymo and Aurora earlier this year. Now, with Cruise, Uber plans to expand their services with convenience and safety in mind.
Which Vehicles Will Be Used For The Rides?
This partnership between Uber and Cruise will be using Cruise’s modified Chevy Bolt model for the robotaxi services. These vehicles are designed to work without human drivers, and have advanced sensors and software that helps navigate around urban environments safely.
Cruise has been conducting supervised autonomous driving tests in several cities, including Phoenix, Dallas, and Houston. These are the likely locations where Uber’s new robotaxi service will first become available which will then give users and riders the chance to experience the next new era of ride sharing.
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The partnership is most likely going to extend the service to other cities over time, depending on the success of this first rollout and the regulatory environment in different areas. For now, users in these test cities may soon have the option to choose a driverless ride directly through the Uber app.
Marc Whitten, CEO of Cruise also shared his thoughts, saying, “Cruise is on a mission to leverage driverless technology to create safer streets and redefine urban life. We are excited to partner with Uber to bring the benefits of safe, reliable, autonomous driving to even more people, unlocking a new era of urban mobility.”
What About The Other Autonomous Vehicle Partnerships?
We mentioned that Uber earlier partnered with 2 other self-driving vehicle companies, and they, too, have interesting solutions. Waymo partnered with Uber to bring its technology to Uber’s app, starting in Phoenix. This partnership allows customers to book rides in Waymo’s fully autonomous vehicles across 225 square miles of Metro Phoenix. When a customer requests an Uber X, Uber Green, Uber Comfort, or Uber Comfort Electric trip, they have the option to confirm a ride in a Waymo.
In addition to ride-hailing, Uber Eats has also teamed up with Waymo to deliver food using autonomous vehicles in Phoenix. From April this year, residents in select areas like Chandler, Tempe, and Mesa had their orders delivered by Waymo’s driverless cars.
This process is easy: customers using the Uber Eats app will receive a prompt showing that their order might be delivered by an autonomous vehicle, with the option to opt out if they prefer a human courier.
When the Waymo vehicle arrives, customers can use their phones to unlock the vehicle and retrieve their food. All of these bring a different level of convenience to the already innovative app that has been useful since its launched over a decade ago.
