A commercial robotaxi service has been started in Abu Dhabi by the ride-hailing giant Uber and the Chinese company WeRide, which makes technology for self-driving cars. This is Uber’s first foreign service for self-driving cars.
Uber has been quickly forming agreements with self-driving car companies in a wide range of industries, such as delivery, ride-hailing, and trucking. Wayve, Serve Robotics, Aurora Innovation, Waabi, and other companies are also partners.
Still, investors are worried that companies like Waymo and maybe even Tesla, which are making new technologies, will be too good for companies like Uber to compete with. Waymo announced plans to start a robotaxi service in Miami on Thursday, which caused Uber’s stock to drop almost 10%. This happened even though a real autonomous vehicle-style disruption to the ride-hailing industry will take years, and Uber may be one of the apps that people use to connect to those robotaxis.
One person who works for Uber said that the company’s start with WeRide, which went public on the Nasdaq in late October, will be small. Neither Uber nor WeRide said how many cars would be on the streets of Abu Dhabi at first. The first areas to get it will be between Saadiyat Island and Yas Island, as well as on roads to and from Zayed International Airport. In the future, it will be expanded.
At first, there will be a human safety officer in each vehicle. Later in 2025, each vehicle will be fully driverless and ready for business use.
Also Read: Tokyo’s Uber Eats Will Use Cartken’s Sidewalk Robots to Start a Delivery Service
Uber and WeRide will work with Tawasul Transport in the area to run their fleets.
What do you say about this story? Visit Parhlo World For more.
