Singapore becomes first country to get self-driving taxis

The world’s first self-driving taxis are here and big names like Volvo, Ford, Uber and even Google should start worrying. A startup in Singapore has started rolling out self-driving taxis in the country which has begun picking up passengers. nuTonomy is offering the first of its kind service starting with six modified Renault Zoe and Mitsubishi iMiEV electric cars. As a safety precaution, there will be a driver in each car on the front if there is need to take over the controls. There will also be researcher who will sit in the back to keep a check on the automatic driving system. This could mean less space for the passengers, but for the ones who don’t mind can ride for free. If the ongoing tests are successful the company hopes to expand its self-driving car fleet by 2018 to help cut the number of cars on Singapore’s congested roads. Doug Parker, COO at nuTonomy, said “Autonomous taxis could ultimately reduce the number of cars on Singapore’s roads from 900,000 to 300,000.When you are able to take that many cars off the road, it creates a lot of possibilities. You can create smaller roads, you can create much smaller car parks. I think it will change how people interact with the city going forward.” For now pick and drop is limited to specific locations and users must have an invitation from nuTonomy to use the service. The company has confirmed that dozens have signed up for the launch, and the list should expand to thousands of people within a few months.