December 28, 2016 17:03pm CST Omaha, NE
With Uber in the news again recently, making waves in California with driverless cars, one might think that rival Lyft is sitting on the sidelines watching this all play out. That assumption, however, would be far from the truth.
Rideshare Insiders has just learned that Lyft has been quietly preparing their own trials in conjunction with General Motors, their investment and technology partner. The trial is to kick off Saturday, New Years Eve, in Omaha. The vehicles, dubbed by anonymous insiders 'the clown cars', are reportedly 2017 Chevrolet Malibu Hybrids, with customized Lyft Pink paint jobs.
According to R. McDonald, President of the Autonomous Automobile Association of Northern New Jersey, "Omaha makes complete sense as a Lyft test market. Costs are reasonable, the regulatory climate is friendly, and the underlying technology infrastructure to support their initial trials are already in place." "Omaha", McDonald added, "is also off the beaten path and less likely to experience the scrutiny of Uber's California efforts."
Lyft joins a crowded field of would be operators of the driverless cars, including Google, Tesla, Uber, and Amazon. Calls to Lyft seeking comment were not returned as of the time of this writing.
