Courtesy Uber (PITTSBURGH) – Uber is introducing its new fleet of “self-driving” cars Wednesday in Pittsburgh, ready to take riders wherever they need to go. This is the first time members of the public can experience the technology firsthand, and the first time we can see how people really feel about these cars hitting the roads.
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The company announced last month that customers will be able to opt into a test program and summon an autonomous Ford Fusion.
Since the technology has not been perfected, the cars will come with human backup drivers to handle any unexpected situations.
The self-driving Ubers are invite only to select group of “loyal” Pittsburgh passengers.
“Safety needs to be the fail safe”, said Debbie Hersman, president and CEO of the National Safety Council, addressing the issue of self-driving cars on public roads.
The company said self-driving Ubers “have enormous potential to further our mission and improve society” – this will be achieved by reducing traffic accidents, freeing up the “20 per cent of space in cities now used to park the world’s billion plus cars”, and cutting congestion.
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Pittsburgh was selected as the first city to allow Uber customers to use the self-driving vehicles.
