Argo Tests Driverless Vehicles on The Streets of Miami And Austin

Tuesday, self-driving firm Argo AI said that its employees would be transported in driverless vehicles through the streets of Miami, Florida and Austin, Texas, with commercial applications to come at an indeterminate period.

Argo, which is supported by Ford Motor (NYSE:F) Co and Volkswagen AG (OTC:VWAGY), has tested its robotaxis on public roads in both cities for a number of years, although safety drivers have always been present.

"Argo is the first to go driverless in two major American cities, securely operating among high traffic, pedestrians, and bikers in the busiest districts," said Bryan Salesky, chief executive officer of Argo AI.

The startup permits ride-hailing, delivery, and logistics firms to integrate its autonomous vehicles into their operations.

A spokesperson for Argo AI stated that ride-hailing service Lyft Inc (NASDAQ:LYFT) and retail-grocery chain Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Inc were incorporating the technology in trial programs.

"Our driverless operations are initially focused on performing employee rides utilizing our in-house designed ride hailing test software," the spokesperson explained. We will integrate driverless vehicles into commercial operations when the time is right.

Lyft, which sold its own autonomous driving technology company a year ago, joined with Argo AI and Ford in July. By providing routing, customer interface, and fleet management services, the ride-hailing company plans to "get the maximum amount of income" from the robotaxis.

Walmart said in September that it would launch an autonomous car delivery service in Miami, Austin, and Washington, D.C. in partnership with Argo AI and Ford.

Self-driving businesses have frequently delayed timeframes for providing genuinely driverless rides on a large scale, with only a handful of limited fully autonomous programs available in the United States.

Human drivers account for around 80% of the per-mile cost of conventional ride-hailing services. Self-driving businesses must recoup billions of dollars in development expenditures and determine how to efficiently grow, manage, and repair vehicle fleets.