Uber’s pilot with autonomous cars has not been a very enjoyable one, particularly in the state of Arizona after the fatal accident in February, involving one of its self-driven cars. Though the company claims that it has not abandoned its ambitious project completely, it has shut it down in Arizona for now, since all the Volvo cars in the self-driven category have been pulled out of the state.
Uber will now turn to Pittsburg and Pennsylvania to promote autonomous cars, as part of its urban mobility service. The company is firm in its resolve to stay with the project to run the self-driven cars, despite the setback in Arizona.
The vehicles, which were being tested in Arizona, will be moved to other cities and employees too will be assisted in finding a new job.
For the record, it is California that Uber would want the service to be up and running, but it has had a run in with the authorities there once having run the cars without a testing permit. However, Uber may still get to run its autonomous cars in 2 cities in the state, San Francisco and Sacramento, provided the state level and local officials agree to it.
The self-driving technology is very important to the future of Uber’s ride services. This also comes at a time when the company is revamping its structure, cutting costs in preparation for the IPO.
Interestingly, Uber got a welcome in Arizona when the state’s Governor made fun of the stricter rules in California and it was the crash in which a woman got killed that derailed the whole project. Even in the other city, Pittsburg, the authorities would want to wait until there is a proper investigation into the Arizona accident and the federal authorities issue clear guidelines on running self-driven cars on public roads. The approach varies from city to city and Sacramento may be keen to have the autonomous cars on its roads and not wait for any enquiry reports.
Uber may have to do more work before it can feel comfortable with operating the self-driven car service.