General Motors and Lyft have reportedly partnered to start testing self-driving taxis within the next year. An autonomous fleet of Chevrolet Bolt electric cars will hit the public roads of a mystery city. The robot taxis will first have drivers behind the steering wheel who can take control of the smart cars in emergency situations.
Lyft customers who book a ride with the company can use the Lyft mobile app to opt in for the pilot program, according to Quartz. They can also opt out of rides from autonomous vehicles (AVs).
Lyft app users would have options to ask questions to GM OnStar employees, or help riders with problems. They could also tell the vehicles when to start the trip and when they are finished with the taxi service.
The ride-sharing company is still working on the app. However, Lyft is clearly trying to solve possible trust issues between their customers and autonomous cars.
GM reported that it is partnering with Lyft to develop an autonomous fleet, but did not have any details about specific vehicles and technologies.
This year the American automaker has been taking steps to prepare for its future with driverless cars. In January GM spent $500 million as an investment in Lyft. It has also bought the car-rental service Maven, purchased the self-driving tech company Cruise, and introduced the car rental program Express Drive for Lyft drivers.
In addition, last month Google, Ford, Volvo, Uber, and Lyft joined forces to create the Self-Driving Coalition for Safer Streets. The lobbying group will support self-driving cars as the federal government addresses the topic.
In related news, Google has just made a deal with Fiat Chrysler to share its self-driving technology for 100 self-driving Pacifca hybrid minivans, according to USA Today. Google's autonomous car program has racked up over 1 million miles.
Meanwhile, Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne stated that tech businesses including the Alphabet company are not the automaker's enemy. They will instead affect the "next phase" of the auto industry.
John Krafcik heads Google's AV project. He claimed that Fiat Chrysler's engineering team is fast and focused. The Italian-American company can help Google to build more cars and boost their testing miles.
Here's Japan's plan to use robot taxis at the 2020 Olympics: