Self-driving Uber cars arrive in Pittsburgh

Uber’s much-hyped self-driving cars are now on the road in Pittsburgh. As previously reported, Uber is running a pilot scheme which will allow selected customers to use the Uber app to hail the autonomous vehicles – and the project goes live today (14 September).

There will be a “safety driver” in the front seat because – as Uber admits – the autonomous vehicles still “require human intervention in many conditions, including bad weather”.

In a blog posted on Uber’s newsroom website today, Uber CEO Travis Kalanick and Anthony Levandowski, the VP of Uber’s self-driving technology division, said: “This pilot is a big step forward. Real-world testing is critical to the success of this technology. And creating a viable alternative to individual car ownership is important to the future of cities.”