Lyft, Motional to launch robotaxi service in Los Angeles

Lyft and driverless technology firm Motional said on Thursday that residents in Los Angeles will be able to book robotaxis on the ride-hailing company’s app, but did not specify by when the service will be available.

Tough regulatory scrutiny and delayed commercial adoption of autonomous vehicle technology have delayed deployment of robotaxi services, worrying investors.

Los Angeles will become the second city where the companies will offer the driverless taxi service after Las Vegas.

Motional, which uses Hyundai’s Ioniq 5 electric car for the robotaxi service, is a joint venture between the South Korean manufacturer and automotive technology company Aptiv.

The autonomous vehicle technology company also has a 10-year agreement with Uber Technologies Inc for supplying driverless vehicles.

Competitor Waymo started its autonomous ride-hailing service in Phoenix, Arizona last week.

(Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Vinay Dwivedi)