‘Hey, taxi!’ is about to become an app button
Not a day goes by without the internet witnessing the emergence of at least one story about self-driving cars, whether it's Tesla's Autopilot feature or a big city's plan for the future.
We're following up the latter, as Singapore just agreed on a partnership with Delphi Automotive to develop an on-demand self-driving taxi system that would help commuters with their 'first mile' and 'last mile' trips. Kind of like Uber, but without the driver.
Basically, the project aims to simplify the journey from one's home or office to a mass transit station – which can be either a bus stop, train station or underground terminal. In other words, instead of using their own cars, commuters will request a self-driving taxi using a mobile app.
The deal also states that Delphi will provide a fleet of fully autonomous vehicles but will also have to develop a required cloud-based mobility-on-demand software bundle.
As a bonus to reducing overall traffic congestion and vehicle emissions, the solution is projected to lower cab ride fees from $3-4 per mile to just 90 cents a mile, according to Glen DeVos, Delphi vice president of engineering.
The pilot program is set to stretch over a three-year span, with the possibility of turning into an up-and-running service by 2022. Developers also claim the technology can be successfully applied in ecosystems concerned with passenger cars, buses or commercial vehicles.