Lyft to offer rides in autonomous vehicles in Las Vegas at CES
Las Vegas residents are getting a front-seat look at the future of transportation.
Ride-hailing company Lyft will whisk passengers around town next week in autonomous BMW 5-Series sedans.
Lyft has teamed up with Aptiv, a maker of automated driving solutions, to offer the experience during CES, which runs Jan. 9-12.
Riders will be able to hail the automated cars at the Las Vegas Convention Center’s Gold lot and take it to 20 destinations, including hotels and restaurants, according to a joint statement issued Tuesday.
“We are doing this to show driverless technology is maturing rapidly,” said Zachary Peterson, a spokesman for Aptiv. ”We see ride sharing as one of the first commercial opportunities for self-driving cars.”
A safety driver and an in-car host will accompany riders.
Before cruising in the autonomous car, riders will have to visit an exhibit inside a Lyft pavilion at the Gold lot that will tout “the positive impact” the new form of transport will have on people and communities.
Riders will be asked to take a survey at the end of the ride, which will be free.
Getting a ride, though, may not be easy. More than 180,000 people are expected to visit CES, potentially creating huge demand for the opportunity. There will be eight BMW sedans.
Autonomous cars will be a major topic at the international consumer electronics show this year, with 11 car manufacturers and hundreds of car technology companies exhibiting.
Lyft Co-founder and President John Zimmer and Ford Chief Executive Officer James Hackett will deliver one of seven keynotes at CES.
This will be Aptiv’s second real-time demonstration of its driverless technology in Las Vegas. Last year during CES, the company offered clients a 6.3-mile ride around Las Vegas in an autonomous car.
We’re partnering with @Lyft to offer a first-of-its-kind, fully automated, point-to-point ride-hailing experience at #CES2018 https://t.co/2ztoJWxafH pic.twitter.com/CcHsaDkKj1
— Aptiv (@Aptiv) January 2, 2018
Contact Todd Prince at tprince@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0386. Follow @toddprincetv on Twitter.
