Autonomous BotRide robo-taxis coming to Irvine

Self-driving autonomous cars are coming to Irvine.

Hundreds of riders and carpoolers in Irvine will get free access to some cutting-edge tech: driverless robo-taxis.

According to VentureBeat, Pony.ai, a Guangzhou-based autonomous vehicle startup, will be testing its BotRide autonomous ride-sharing program in the city starting November 4.

The program will allow users to hail Hyundai KONA Electric SUVs using Android or iOS apps, although the fleet of 10 cars will still have human safety drivers behind the wheel.

“The pilot introduces BotRide to several hundred Irvine residents, including college students. The goal is to study consumer behavior in an autonomous ride-sharing environment,” said Hyundai Motor Company head of business development Christopher Chang. “We are going to learn about ecosystems, where the vehicles travel and optimize the customer experience. BotRide is another example of Hyundai’s ongoing efforts to actively build expertise in mobility technology as well as the company’s commitment to providing more user-friendly mobility services to customers.”