Ride-hailing service Lyft said it would start testing autonomous ridesharing in Boston in collaboration with the technology startup nuTonomy.
Under the collaboration, nuTonomy and Lyft will team up to acquire insights into “all elements of ensuring a passenger’s comfort and safety” in self-driving vehicles, as per the joint statement.
Lyft’s move comes after a similar effort by Uber, which has been utilizing autonomous cars in a test program in some United States cities.
“At Lyft, we imagine a world where car ownership is optional and cities are created for people instead of vehicles,” stated Lyft co-founder and CEO Logan Green.
“Partnering with nuTonomy is an essential step to making this vision a reality. The nuTonomy group is among the first movers in autonomous automobile development, and we look forward to dealing with them to bring their autonomous cars to the Lyft network.”
The testing will occur in areas of Boston where nuTonomy has actually been testing its self-driving electric cars since the start of the year.
The vehicles run with an engineer from nuTonomy, a software application company created by researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
NuTonomy likewise prepares to introduce a self-driving on-demand service in Singapore from next year.
“By integrating forces with Lyft in the US, we’ll be placed to construct the best traveler experience for self-driving automobiles,” stated Karl Iagnemma, CEO and co-founder of nuTonomy.
“Both companies care tremendously about solving urban transportation concerns and the future of our cities, and we look forward to dealing with Lyft as we continue to improve our autonomous vehicle software system.”
