On 28 July, Freenow by Lyft confirmed that it has started robotaxi testing on public roads in the London borough of Brent, using Baidu Apollo Go’s RT6 cars with a safety driver.
To support the announcement, Freenow by Lyft published new research showing that, of 1,000 Londoners surveyed, 58% would be willing to ride in an autonomous vehicle. Not a bad start.
In further findings, 51% expressed excitement about the technology, 43% believed it would offer a more reliable journey, and 41% said they liked the idea of having some quiet “me time” while travelling.
Thomas Zimmermann, CEO of Freenow by Lyft, commented: “As a platform with deep roots in the taxi industry, our priority is ensuring that autonomous technology supports the professional drivers who keep London moving.
“By integrating these purpose-built, autonomous vehicles from Baidu’s Apollo Go into the Freenow by Lyft ecosystem, we will give Londoners more sustainable choices to travel, encouraging them to choose shared mobility services over personally owned vehicles.”
Nan Yang, Vice President of Baidu and General Manager of its Overseas Business Unit, added: “The arrival of Apollo Go vehicles in London marks a defining milestone in our global expansion.
“Testing our autonomous fleet in one of the world’s most iconic and complex urban environments validates our technology’s maturity and our commitment to this market.
“By combining our cutting-edge autonomous driving technology with Freenow by Lyft’s local operational expertise, we are officially moving from vision to reality, together.”
They’ll face stiff competition, of course, from Waymo, and Wayve with Uber, among others.
London robotaxi experience
We also have to query one aspect of the survey results. Apparently 48% of those questioned said they had never ridden in an autonomous vehicle. So, 52% of London-based repondents believe they have been in an AV?
That seems improbably high, especially in light of our own recent survey showing that 11.5% of UK adults think they’ve been in one, but only 6% actually have.
We suspect widespread confusion with advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) again – unless the respondents were counting the Docklands Light Railway.
Still, it’s yet another super exciting UK self-driving development. Stay tuned for a Big Interview with Freenow by Lyft – coming soon!
