Motional And Via Cooperation Launch Robotaxi Free Shuttle In Las Vegas

Motional and Via team up to launch a free robotaxi shuttle service (photo: twitter @motional)

JAKARTA – Motional and Via have teamed up to launch a free robotaxi shuttle service in Las Vegas. The news comes nearly a year and a half after the two companies announced their intention to join forces to study how autonomous vehicles can interact with public transit networks.

Motion is a joint venture between Hyundai and Aptiv, which has tested its vehicles in Las Vegas and California. Via is a transit software company that previously operated on-demand vehicles in New York City and Washington, DC.

Together, the two companies said they would launch an autonomous shuttle service in Las Vegas that would be free to use.

Starting today, Robotaxis Motional is available on the Via smartphone app for passengers in downtown Las Vegas. This service will operate from 09:00 a.m. to 17:00 p.m., Monday to Friday. The vehicle is a BMW 5-series sedan and not the Hyundai Ioniq 5 electric SUV, which Motional says will be the future vehicle of choice for its robotaxi services.

The vehicle will include a safety driver in the front seat, and pick-up and drop-off locations will be pre-determined. Locations, which will be highlighted in the Via app, include RTC Bonneville Transit Center, Las Vegas City Hall, Container Park, Las Vegas Arts District, and Clark County Government Center.

Las Vegas is no stranger to autonomous vehicles and shuttles. The city regularly hosts companies that test their vehicles along the Las Vegas strip and elsewhere, especially during the annual Consumer Electronics Show. There are also several robotic shuttle services, most notably one operated by Keolis which was involved in a low-speed crash in 2017.

Motion doesn't work exclusively with Via either. The company plans to launch a commercial robotaxi service in 2023. The service, which is likely to start in Las Vegas, will be available on ride-hailing app Lyft after the company sold its own AV technology development program to Toyota for $550 million last year.

Motion as a joint venture was first announced in March 2020, when Hyundai said it would spend $1.6 billion developing its commercial business around autonomous vehicles.

Aptiv, a technology company that split from auto parts supplier Delphi, owns a 50 percent stake in the venture. The company currently has facilities in Las Vegas, Singapore, and Seoul and has also tested its vehicles in Boston and Pittsburgh. In addition to Las Vegas, Motion is also testing its vehicles in Santa Monica, California.

The Motion Engineer was responsible for piloting the world's first robotaxi, in Singapore, as well as the first autonomous trip from New York to San Francisco. Over the past few years, Aptiv and now Motional, have had a fleet of autonomous taxis that are monitored by drivers with security in Las Vegas. They partnered with Lyft to have completed “more than 100.000 trips.” Earlier this year, the company began testing vehicles without a human monitor behind the wheel.