Move over Uber: Lyft partners with Alphabet's Waymo to launch self-driving car pilots

  • Uber and Waymo are currently engaged in a bitter legal dispute about data
  • Waymo said it thinks new self-driving products will make our roads safer
  • It will test its Lyft self-driving car service would start in Phoenix, Arizona 

By AFP and PHOEBE WESTON FOR MAILONLINE

Published: | Updated:

Waymo, the self-driving car unit of Google parent Alphabet, has reached an agreement with ridesharer Lyft to test self-driving car technology, the companies said.

Waymo and Lyft are joining forces against ridesharing giant Uber, which is racing to develop its own self-driving vehicles.

Many other companies such as German carmaker Daimler and California-based Tesla have been stepping up efforts in autonomous driving in recent years.

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Ridesharer Lyft is joining forces with Waymo, the  self-driving car unit of Google parent Alphabet, to test self-driving car technology in Phoenix

Ridesharer Lyft is joining forces with Waymo, the  self-driving car unit of Google parent Alphabet, to test self-driving car technology in Phoenix

WAYMO AND LYFT

Waymo and Lyft are joining forces against ridesharing giant Uber, which is racing to develop its own self-driving vehicles.

'Waymo holds today's best self-driving technology, and collaborating with them will accelerate our shared vision of improving lives with the world´s best transportation,' the Lyft statement read. 

Waymo and Uber are currently engaged in a bitter legal dispute. 

In February Waymo filed a lawsuit claiming that a former manager took technical data when he left to launch a competing venture that was later acquired by Uber.

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'We're looking forward to working with Lyft to explore new self-driving products that will make our roads safer and transportation more accessible,' a Waymo spokesman told AFP.

'Lyft's vision and commitment to improving the way cities move will help Waymo's self-driving technology reach more people, in more places.'

A Lyft spokeswoman confirmed the partnership to The New York Times, which broke the story and said tests of the self-driving car service would start in Phoenix, Arizona.

A date is yet to be revealed.  

'Waymo holds today's best self-driving technology, and collaborating with them will accelerate our shared vision of improving lives with the world´s best transportation,' the Lyft statement read.

Waymo and Uber are currently engaged in a bitter legal dispute.

In February Waymo filed a lawsuit claiming that a former manager took technical data when he left to launch a competing venture that was later acquired by Uber.

Self-driving car technology is developing rapidly and many companies are already testing their models.

 Lyft previously announced partnerships with Alphabet's self-driving division, Waymo, technology company Nutonomy, and automakers General Motors Co and Jaguar Land Rover

Waymo has undergone 200 hours of extreme-weather testing and plans to have the vehicles on public roads in 2017, according to Waymo's CEO Jon Krafcik

For example, Waymo has undergone 200 hours of extreme-weather testing and plans to have the vehicles on public roads in 2017, according to Waymo's CEO Jon Krafcik.

Tesla's Model S and Model X vehicles with new autonomous capability hardware are already in production. 

Many other companies have been working on self-driving technology in recent years, contending that these systems will eliminate the vast majority of road accidents.

In February Waymo filed a lawsuit claiming that a former manager took technical data when he left to launch a competing venture that was later acquired by Uber 

In February Waymo filed a lawsuit claiming that a former manager took technical data when he left to launch a competing venture that was later acquired by Uber 

ELECTRIC FLEETS

Ninety-five per cent of miles travelled will happen in autonomous electric vehicles which are owned by fleets rather than individuals in little more than a decade, found RethinkX, an independent research group based in California.

The report found Autonomous Electric Vehicles (A-EVs) will be owned by companies providing Transport as a Service (TaaS) by 2030 which will make up 60 per cent of vehicles on US roads.

Electric vehicles will be cheaper because they will be used ten times more than cars people use at the moment.

They will also have a vehicle lifetime of more than 500,000 miles and far lower maintenance, energy, finance and insurance costs, researchers say.  

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Apple is the latest to have obtained a testing permit in California.

German luxury carmaker Daimler and auto parts supplier Bosch announced plans this month to work together to create completely driverless cars in the next few years.

US-based Tesla is also stepping up efforts, as are several Chinese technology firms and the major US, Asian and European manufacturers.  

The average car-buyer would be willing to pay $4,900 (£3,791) more for a car that had self-driving technology, and $3,500 (£2,707) more for crash avoidance, a study revealed last week.

It also found that there's a big difference in what people would be willing to pay: Some would pay more than $10,000 (£7,738) for automation, while other wouldn't pay anything for the rapidly developing technology.

 

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