Russian IT company Yandex said on Tuesday it would launch the testing of the first autonomous ride-hailing service in Europe in the Russian high-tech hub Innopolis, located in the Tatarstan Republic.
INNOPOLIS (Russia) (Pakistan Point news / Sputnik - 28th August, 2018) Russian IT company Yandex said on Tuesday it would launch the testing of the first autonomous ride-hailing service in Europe in the Russian high-tech hub Innopolis, located in the Tatarstan Republic.
"Today we are thrilled to announce that Yandex.Taxi's self-driving car is now offering a ride-hailing service to passengers in the university city of Innopolis, Russia. As the first service to offer autonomous ride-hailing in Europe, we are not only excited to help users safely and efficiently navigate to destinations but also to help the public adopt driverless technology and the future of transportation," the company said in a statement.
Within the framework of this project, Yandex will first launch two self-driving vehicles that will go to certain destinations in the city free of charge. A safety engineer will ride in the passenger seat during the trip.
In the future, Yandex plans to include more destinations and vehicles in the service and remove the safety engineer. Moreover, the service will be improved based on user feedback.
So far, around 100 people have signed up for the testing of Yandex's driverless ride-hailing service, according to the statement.
Autonomous driving has been in the spotlight of high-tech companies across the globe. In July, media reported that the German car manufacturer Daimler had partnered with German electronics company Bosch for a driverless ride-hailing project, which will be tested in the United States in 2019.
