Uber, Chinese autonomous driving company Pony.ai and Croatian mobility business Verne have begun testing robotaxis on the streets of Manchester, extending plans for autonomous taxi services in the UK beyond London.
image: Pony.ai
The programme involves Pony.ai’s seventh-generation autonomous vehicles mapping Manchester’s roads with safety drivers behind the wheel. The vehicles are not carrying passengers, and the companies have not announced a timetable for launching a commercial service.
Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) says it has not yet received any applications to operate driverless taxis in the city region.
The companies are building on their collaboration in Zagreb, Croatia, where autonomous passenger journeys are already available through the Uber and Verne apps. Pony.ai supplies the autonomous driving technology, Uber provides access to customers through its ride-hailing platform, and Verne contributes its operational model.
Pony.ai said Greater Manchester’s approximately six million daily journeys, made by residents and visitors, and the region’s ambition to improve connected and accessible mobility made it an attractive location for the expansion.
The announcement follows plans unveiled by Pony.ai and Uber earlier this month to introduce the company’s Gen-7 robotaxis to London. Uber has also begun supervised autonomous passenger journeys in the capital using technology developed by British company Wayve. Other companies, including Alphabet-owned Waymo and Chinese autonomous driving business Baidu, are currently pursuing testing programmes in London.