Ford, Lyft Partner To Provide Autonomous Ride-Hailing Service

DEARBORN, MI — Ford appears to be doubling down on its push toward autonomous vehicles with a Wednesday announcement of a partnership with Lyft, the nation’s second largest ride-hailing service. Together, the companies aim to create a fleet of self-driving cars that will provide taxi service in major urban areas by 2021.

“Think of it this way: Someday, when you open the Lyft app during a period of high demand, Ford and Lyft software will need to be capable of quickly dispatching a self-driving vehicle so that you can get to your destination as quickly and as safely as possible,” wrote Sherif Marakby, Ford Vice President, Autonomous Vehicles and Electrification, in a Wednesday blog.

Partnering with Lyft makes sense for Ford, Marakby said. He said the company has expertise in transportation flow within cities, and an established customer network. Ford brings its already considerable knowledge of autonomous vehicle technology and, obviously, large-scale manufacturing.

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Over the next few months, Ford and Lyft will work to figure out which cities should first get ride-hailing service with self-driving cars, and what infrastructure will be needed to make it operationally viable, Marakby said. In a nutshell, the idea is how best to come up with a system that serves people reliably while turning a profit.

“Some view the opportunity with self-driving vehicles as a race to be first,” Marakby wrote in the blog. “But we are focusing our efforts on building a service based around actual people’s needs and wants. We are placing a high priority on safety and dependability so customers will trust the experience that our self-driving technology will one day enable.”

Ford Motor Co. isn’t Lyft’s only autonomous-car partnership, according to a Detroit Free Press report. The San Francisco-based company has recruited others like software builder Dive.ai to help get the new service to market. The Free Press reported that Lyft and Uber both see autonomous service as critical to the future.

Top photo by Scott Olson /staff / Getty Images News / Getty Images