The biggest state in the union is making room for self-driving cars, starting with four self-driving vans.
Driverless vehicles will begin picking up passengers for the first time in Texas, beginning in Frisco in July of this year.
Alison Griswold reports that the California-based company Drive.ai will launch a six-month pilot program that will operate four Nissan NV200s—"the same boxy van that roams New York City streets as a yellow taxi."
"Much like hailing an Uber, riders will summon one of Drive.ai’s vehicles using an app they install on their phones," according to Griswold. "For now, rides are free."
Drive.ai seems aware that the public consciousness about self-driving cars is mostly devoted to large companies like Uber, Waymo, and General Motors. "From day one, Drive.ai has positioned itself as the driverless car company that thinks most about these human-technology interactions," according to Griswold. "The vans rolling out in Frisco have LED screens on each side that can display short messages to other drivers and pedestrians, such as 'waiting for you to cross.'"
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