Argo AI LLC, the Strip District-based autonomous vehicle (AV) technology company, is now offering ride-hailing customers on Lyft Inc.'s platform in Austin, Texas, the ability to request and subsequently travel in a self-driving Ford Escape. Austin marks the second city after Miami where consumers are able to experience an AV on their own that's powered by Argo's tech — backed by Ford Motor Co. and Volkswagen AG — and offered on Lyft's (NASDAQ: LYFT) network.
To hire an AV, travelers in Austin simply use the Lyft app as they would when requesting a regular Lyft ride, opting for the "Self-Driving" vehicle option instead of one of Lyft's other choices.
There is no price difference for consumers between picking the AV option or Lyft's standard fare for its human-driven vehicles. Once the AV arrives, Lyft customers will then be able to unlock its doors, start the trip and contact customer support all from the Lyft app while the vehicle drives itself and its occupants to the desired destination.
These customers won't be alone, however. Lyft said that passengers picking the AV option will also see two safety operators in the front seats. Lyft didn't disclose how long it intends to keep those operators in these vehicles but it noted doing so is part of its preparations "for a fully autonomous future," according to a company blog post.
The news also comes just weeks after Argo rolled out its line of AV products for ride-hailing and delivery-focused businesses. In May, Argo announced that it's conducting fully autonomous testing in Austin and Miami without humans in the vehicles that its tech is driving. It notably cannot do such work in its native Pittsburgh as Pennsylvania law currently prohibits AV companies from testing without human safety operators inside the vehicle at all times, though that law could be changing soon.
Argo first partnered with Lyft for ride-hailing testing purposes in 2021. It also partnered with Walmart Inc. last year for the testing autonomous goods delivery.
"Following a successful launch with Lyft in Miami late last year, we are excited to now offer autonomous rideshare to the general public in two major U.S. cities," Catherine Johnsmeyer, senior communications manager at Argo, said in an email statement to Pittsburgh Inno. "This expansion with Lyft is an important milestone on our path to scaling commercial deployment in both Austin and Miami, our initial U.S. launch markets for autonomous rideshare and goods delivery."
While Argo's launch of an available consumer product is significant for the Pittsburgh AV tech company, it's not the first to have done so. Alphabet Inc.'s Waymo LLC has been offering driverless robotaxi service in Phoenix since 2020 while General Motors Co.'s AV subsidiary Cruise launched commercial driverless service in San Francisco earlier this year. Additionally, Lyft tapped Motional, which is backed by Aptiv PLC and Hyundai Motor Co., for robotaxi service in Las Vegas last month, bringing Lyft's total city count where it offers AV service to three when also including the service powered by Argo in Austin and Miami.
Argo employs about 1,800 workers globally, with about 800 of those employees residing and working out of the Pittsburgh region. Those figures are after the July 2022 layoffs that the company issued, which impacted about 5% of its workforce.
CEO Bryan Salesky and President Peter Rander founded Argo in 2016 and it's one of three Pittsburgh-based AV companies. Its financial backing includes more than $1 billion in investments from Ford and Volkswagen.
