Ridesharing company Uber, which has a freight hauling division, will now be partnering with Aurora to use their driverless trucks on shipping routes between Dallas and Houston.
The “long-term” deal is an extension and development of their existing partnership to use driverless trucks between Dallas/Fort Worth and El Paso for distributor Veritiv. That partnership was largely a pilot or test during the 2022 holiday season, which continued after the holidays ended.
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Uber Freight, which was started in 2017, helps truckers connect with shippers in a fashion similar to how its signature ridesharing app connects drivers to customers. The company will be one of Aurora’s very first customers on this route, which will be launching later in 2024. Aurora, which was created by former executives from Google, Tesla, and Uber, is scheduled to release 20 “fully-autonomous trucks” in the coming months.
Uber and Aurora will also be launching Premier Autonomy, a program that will grant major carriers “early and streamlined” access Aurora’s driverless tech. Called “Aurora Driver,” the driverless trucks will be made available to interested packaging distributors through a subscription fee.
Members of the program will gain “access to over 1 billion driverless miles through 2030” in addition to “seamless integration” of Aurora Driver with Uber Freight. Ossa Fisher, president of Aurora, said the program will give access to “hundreds” of carriers.
This new program will be a test of Aurora’s mettle, as the company experienced a net loss of $165 million in the first quarter of 2024, which was nevertheless a 16 percent increase from the year before.
Uber previously wanted to work with Google parent company Alphabet and its driverless program Waymo, but Google has pulled back from the endeavor as it works with industry partner Daimler on it. Meanwhile, Aurora is partnering with Volvo and Continental, and maintains close ties to Uber through the interpersonal relationships of the executives: its co-founder Drew Bagnell was the former head of Uber’s autonomy and perception team.
Shane Devine is a writer covering politics and business for VT and a regular guest on The Unusual Suspects. Follow Shane’s work here.
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