Motional Launches First Uber Robotaxi Service In Las Vegas

Back in 2016, former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick called automated vehicles an existential threat to his ride-hailing business. He went on to burn several billion dollars trying to get an Uber robotaxi on the road by 2018. By 2020, Kalanick had been ousted as CEO and the Advanced Technology Group was unloaded on Aurora Innovation along with a check for another $400 million without producing a robotaxi. Now, for the first time, Uber users in Las Vegas can hail a robotaxi thanks to Motional.

Motional is the joint venture of Hyundai and automotive supplier Aptiv. Recently, Uber and Motional announced a ten year deal to deploy Motional robotaxis on the Uber platform and Las Vegas is the first fruit of that partnership. Just as Lyft customers in Las Vegas have been able to do since 2018, Uber users now have the option in the app to hail an automated vehicle if one is available nearby.

Unlike the BMW 5 series sedans that began delivering passengers to hotels and other locations along the Las Vegas strip, all of Motional’s robotaxi’s are now modified versions of the Hyundai Ioniq 5. The Ioniq 5 is a compact crossover equipped with the latest generation of the Motional automated driving system which is being tested in Boston, Pittsburgh, San Diego, Santa Monica and Singapore in addition to Las Vegas..

For now, the Ioniqs still have safety drivers aboard, but Motional has previously announced that it plans to begin offering driverless services in multiple cities in 2023. Hailing a ride is the same process as with a conventional vehicle using the Uber or Lyft apps. Just head down to the taxi/ride-hail pickup/dropoff area that all of the Las Vegas hotels have and enter a destination in the app. If a Motional vehicle is available, the app will provide the option to select it.

While many of the human drivers that give rides using a ride-hailing app use both platforms, selecting whichever offers a customer first, Motional will be keeping separate fleets for each company for now. Motional isn’t saying exactly how many vehicles it will have running with Uber, but for much of the time between 2018 and 2020, there were about 30 cars at any one time on Lyft.

The service is currently limited to the highest traffic part of the city along the strip from Mandalay Bay at the south to the convention center and the Sahara at the North and everything in between. However, you won’t be able to get a ride to or from the airport yet. While the fares charged on Lyft are the same as what customers would pay for a ride with a conventional vehicle, the Uber vehicles aren’t charging anything yet.

While this is the first passenger carrying service Motional has done with Uber, it’s not the first collaboration. Beginning early this year, Motional Ioniq 5s began making deliveries in Santa Monica with Uber Eats. Recently Motional also announced plans to add services in other parts of the Los Angeles area beginning in 2023 and these will likely be operated with at least Uber and probably Lyft as well.

Those heading to Las Vegas for the holidays or CES in January and curious about self-driving robotaxis, should try out one of these vehicles if they are available.