Uber Freight will use driverless trucks from Dallas to Houston starting this fall in partnership with autonomous technology developer Aurora Innovation, Inc.
The transportation and logistics company, a subsidiary of Uber Technologies Inc., will employ Pittsburgh-based Aurora’s self-driving system designed to operate multiple vehicle types. Uber Technologies Inc. also operates a ride-hailing service and delivery service, Uber and Uber Eats.
“Autonomous trucks will make moving goods more efficient, and this industry-first program will help facilitate and accelerate the adoption of autonomous trucks with our carriers,” said Lior Ron, the CEO of Uber Freight, in a statement.
The partnership between the two companies is called the “Premier Autonomy” program, which will provide early access to over one billion of Aurora’s driverless miles to Uber Freight carriers through 2030.
The program will work in two parts, an Aurora spokesperson said. Aurora will initially haul for shippers on the Uber Freight network using human drivers. Then, the company will select carriers who use the Uber Freight network to be part of the autonomous truck program.
Aurora publicly works with companies like FedEx and Hirschbach, said Zac Andreoni, who is vice president of business development at Aurora.
Eventually, the company plans to pull drivers from trucks entirely. Currently, drivers will take on initial and final stretches of trips in areas where lanes are smaller and turns are tighter.
“This program is going to help us tap into a much larger population of customers and really help drive us towards that profitability in 2028,” Andreoni said.
Driverless technology has the potential to reshape the freight industry by allowing trucks to be on the road for more than 20 hours a day. Without human drivers and human-related breaks, delivery times can be cut by days.
The companies developing autonomous technology say that driverless vehicles will improve highway safety and stabilize transportation costs, though opponents have concerns including a lack of regulation and the pace at which companies like Aurora are bringing driverless trucks to market.
Aurora announced that it had finalized the architecture and requirement of its driverless hardware earlier this year, and the company launched commercial-ready terminals to receive autonomous vehicles in Texas last year. The same year, Kroger joined California-based Gatik’s D-FW truck fleet that’s slated to go autonomous this year.
X: @umaxbhat
