Lyft Plots Autonomous Rides As Early As This Summer As US Robotaxi Race Looms
It’s been ten years since Google’s Waymo gave a robot the wheel and let it out onto public roads for the first time. But ten years later, most of America is still waiting for their robotaxi to pick them up. Waymo and other self-driving aspirants have been driving circles around the Bay Area for years. But last year, the self-driving company — one of just a few operating commercially — expanded, kicking off a race to put autonomous vehicles (AVs) in new cities. Lyft is the latest to jump into the race.
- On Thursday, Lyft announced that it would begin trialing AVs in Atlanta in partnership with May Mobility — a trial launch that would serve as a precursor to a larger nationwide rollout.
- Lyft has already teased a separate rollout of robotaxis slated for 2026, which will use technology from Intel spinoff Mobileye Global — with plans to expand to additional cities.
Driving among US: Lyft’s AV forays come weeks after competitor Uber announced a partnership with Waymo to include its self-driving vehicles in the app. And last week, Tesla was awarded a permit to begin testing its own robotaxi services. But by many measures, it still might be a while before robotaxis became common in the US.
Meanwhile, in China: With more lax regulations, firms like Baidu, WeRide, and Pony AI have been raking in the yuan by whisking passengers along city streets — and that growth leaves something to be desired in the country that founded the technology in the first place.
