The Future of Transportation: A Ride with Lyft's Self-Driving Car
As I stepped off the plane at Las Vegas' McCarran Airport, I couldn't help but feel excited and curious about the future of transportation. And what better way to experience it than by taking a ride in one of Lyft's self-driving cars? The company has been offering rides in autonomous vehicles here in Las Vegas since last May, and I had to try it out for myself.
I opted in as soon as I got off the plane, eager to see if I would be paired with human drivers or, more excitingly, a fully autonomous vehicle. Unfortunately, my first few rides were stuck with human drivers, but that all changed today. As we set off on our journey, I was getting into a BMW 540i that had been retrofitted with cameras wide R and a plethora of sensors. The car even has an autonomous license plate – a unique touch that sets it apart from regular vehicles.
The ride started with manual mode, which is required for private property like the casino we were heading to. But as soon as we hit public roads, we switched over to autonomous mode, and I was immediately struck by how smooth the car felt. It's hard to describe just how seamless the experience was – it's almost like Vernon, the driver, was an extremely careful and attentive person behind the wheel. Of course, that's not entirely true – cars are cut in front of us pretty quickly, and we did break – but it all happened with a surprising lack of incident.
As I sat in the backseat, I couldn't help but feel a sense of wonder at how much technology had gone into this car. The driver – or rather, the autonomous system – has to pay attention to the road and ensure that all turns and stops are safe. It's not just window dressing; manually starting the car on private roads is still an important part of the process, and the company is always there to support passengers with any issues. And let's not forget the screen in the backseat – it's a game-changer for passengers who want to engage with what's happening outside.
The ride itself was surprisingly short and uneventful – nothing much happened, but that's actually just how it should be when you're a passenger. You don't need excitement to make a ride worthwhile; sometimes simplicity is the best option. And as I looked at the screen in front of me, displaying where we were going and how far away we were from our destination, I couldn't help but feel a sense of confidence and reassurance. This is what it's all about – making transportation accessible and enjoyable for everyone.
Of course, there's still more to come. As we head into the future, we can expect even more information to be shared with passengers about how autonomous vehicles work. It's an exciting time for technology, and I feel privileged to have been a part of it, if only for a short while. If you want to learn more about autonomous vehicles and stay up-to-date on the latest developments, check out CNET and our sister site Roadshow – they're the go-to sources for all things transportation innovation.
As we pulled up to our destination, I couldn't help but feel grateful for the opportunity to experience a self-driving car. It's a glimpse into the future of transportation that's both exciting and reassuring. And who knows? Maybe one day, these cars will be the norm, making transportation faster, cleaner, and more accessible than ever before.
"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enself-driving cars are a hot topic here at CES 2019 and ride-hailing service lyft has been offering rides in self-driving cars here in Las Vegas since last May I opted in the second I got off of the plane I had to try it out but unfortunately I've only been paired with human drivers so far that changes now come on we're gonna go for a drive so the car I'm getting into is a BMW 540i that lifts partner active just bought off a lot and retrofitted with cameras wide R and a whole mess of sensors it even has an autonomous license plate the state of Nevada each autonomous vehicle has to have two drivers one behind the wheel and a safety operator who's kind of like a co-pilot Aaron Vegas every ride starts with manual mode and that is because this is private property here in the casino as soon as we get onto the public road that's when we switch over to autonomous mode one thing I noticed thing is we're stopping and starting here at the lights on the Las Vegas Strip is how smooth the car is it just feels like Vernon here is a very careful driver a cards are just kind of cut in front of us pretty quickly and we did break but it felt smooth and you know we didn't get too close to it honestly sitting in the backseat if I were paying attention at all I would have absolutely no idea that we were it may seem at first that there's not a lot for the driver to do but they really have to pay attention to the road and they've got to really make sure that all of the turns and all of the stops know the started are actually safe is that the part is performing as it's expected to the driver also isn't just window dressing you know there are manually starting the car on private roads are helping to you and they're interfacing between not just the technology but the company and you if you've got a problem there's a human that you can talk to you're not just trapped inside of a metal machine here in the back we've got a screen and this really I think will help engage the passenger to show them exactly where they're going so they've got that level of confidence right now this is what we're seeing but in the future we could see a lot more information that explains the technology okay so this ride was pretty short and to be honest it was a little bit boring because nothing really happened but that's good right because when you're a passenger not much is supposed to happen I got from point A to point B using the same app it was really simple I think there's an initial curiosity about what's going on and then I think that once people become used to it that curiosity is gonna wear off and you're gonna go back to spending your entire lift ride either talking to the driver or the not driver or looking at your phone and still it was just really exciting to be part of something that is going to show tremendously change the way that people get around this is the future we're looking at right here if you want to know more about autonomous vehicles check out CNET and our sister site roadshowself-driving cars are a hot topic here at CES 2019 and ride-hailing service lyft has been offering rides in self-driving cars here in Las Vegas since last May I opted in the second I got off of the plane I had to try it out but unfortunately I've only been paired with human drivers so far that changes now come on we're gonna go for a drive so the car I'm getting into is a BMW 540i that lifts partner active just bought off a lot and retrofitted with cameras wide R and a whole mess of sensors it even has an autonomous license plate the state of Nevada each autonomous vehicle has to have two drivers one behind the wheel and a safety operator who's kind of like a co-pilot Aaron Vegas every ride starts with manual mode and that is because this is private property here in the casino as soon as we get onto the public road that's when we switch over to autonomous mode one thing I noticed thing is we're stopping and starting here at the lights on the Las Vegas Strip is how smooth the car is it just feels like Vernon here is a very careful driver a cards are just kind of cut in front of us pretty quickly and we did break but it felt smooth and you know we didn't get too close to it honestly sitting in the backseat if I were paying attention at all I would have absolutely no idea that we were it may seem at first that there's not a lot for the driver to do but they really have to pay attention to the road and they've got to really make sure that all of the turns and all of the stops know the started are actually safe is that the part is performing as it's expected to the driver also isn't just window dressing you know there are manually starting the car on private roads are helping to you and they're interfacing between not just the technology but the company and you if you've got a problem there's a human that you can talk to you're not just trapped inside of a metal machine here in the back we've got a screen and this really I think will help engage the passenger to show them exactly where they're going so they've got that level of confidence right now this is what we're seeing but in the future we could see a lot more information that explains the technology okay so this ride was pretty short and to be honest it was a little bit boring because nothing really happened but that's good right because when you're a passenger not much is supposed to happen I got from point A to point B using the same app it was really simple I think there's an initial curiosity about what's going on and then I think that once people become used to it that curiosity is gonna wear off and you're gonna go back to spending your entire lift ride either talking to the driver or the not driver or looking at your phone and still it was just really exciting to be part of something that is going to show tremendously change the way that people get around this is the future we're looking at right here if you want to know more about autonomous vehicles check out CNET and our sister site roadshow\n"