A small fleet of self-driving vans has hit the road in the Dallas suburb of Frisco, Texas. A pilot project from app service drive.ai, the vans will travel between a large office park and local dining center. The route is around two miles in total and each vehicle will have a driver on board in case of an emergency.
“This pilot program is a model for the deployment of self-driving vehicles in a public setting, one of the first of its kind in the nation, and a major step forward for the industry,” the company released in a statement. “Drive.ai’s self-driving on-demand service will be operated in conjunction with Frisco TMA, a public-private partnership dedicated to bringing innovative last-mile transportation options to the growing population of Frisco, Texas.”
Since Uber’s accident earlier this year, autonomous vehicles have suffered a tarnished reputation and a stall in Washington. drive.ai’s project is the first of its kind since that accident. It marks a vote of confidence for self-driving tech.
“Today definitely marks a mobility milestone for our entire region. It also gets us closer to achieving one of our council’s ‘Top Ten’ goals, which is to improve traffic throughout Frisco, one of the fastest growing cities in the country.” Frisco Mayor Jeff Cheney said.
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