Lyft’s self-driving car service in Vegas passes 50,000 rides

Lyft’s self-driving cars have been picking up passengers around Las Vegas for the past year. This week the autonomous ride service hit 50,000 rides.

The cars are requested through the Lyft app as usual, but are clearly noted as autonomous vehicles. Lyft works with self-driving company Aptiv to offer the service, which charges riders the same as the equivalent usual Lyft ride. A safety driver is still in the car.

At the 50,000 ride marker, Lyft pointed out that its self-driving cars average a 4.97 star rating and 92 percent of riders gave feedback that they felt safe during the ride. For most riders, this was their first time in an autonomous car.

While in Las Vegas earlier this year, I rode in one of the self-driving Lyfts and experienced the modified BMW 540 powered by Aptiv’s self-driving tech complete with LiDAR, radar, and cameras on the roof. Inside the car, a screen shows what the car sees.

Waymo also offers self-driving taxi rides, but only in the Phoenix area. Its autonomous Chrysler Pacifica minivans will soon show up on the Lyft app there — another partnership from Lyft instead of the ride-hailing company building out its own autonomous vehicles. 

Cruise, back by General Motors, is supposed to offer its own robo-taxi service in San Francisco by the end of this year. Lyft competitor Uber was on track to also offer a self-driving car service it was building from the ground up, but after a fatal crash last year, those plans have slowed down.

Back in Vegas, anyone can ride in the autonomous Lyfts if the option comes up on the ride-hailing app. One lucky rider has taken a self-driving Lyft 14 times in the past year.