GoKawiilLyft launches its first driverless robotaxi service via Waymo in Nashville
Lyft riders in Nashville can now be matched with a driverless Waymo vehicle through the Lyft app, or book directly through Waymo's own app. Lyft's subsidiary Flexdrive manages fleet readiness, maintenance, depot operations and infrastructure for the partnership, marking the first time Lyft has offered a fully driverless commercial ride without a safety operator behind the wheel.
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After selling its own self-driving unit to Toyota in 2021 for $550 million, Lyft is re-entering autonomous vehicles as an operations partner rather than a technology developer, betting on fleet management and app integration instead of building AV tech itself. This positions Lyft against Uber's similar robotaxi partnerships and signals that ride-hailing companies increasingly see supporting infrastructure, not underlying autonomy software, as their competitive edge.
- Lyft's app now matches riders with driverless Waymo vehicles in Nashville, its first true robotaxi commercial launch.
- Lyft's Flexdrive subsidiary handles fleet readiness, maintenance and depot operations rather than the driving technology itself.
- Lyft plans to expand robotaxi partnerships further, including with Baidu in London, after previously exiting AV development in 2021.
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Published there as: “TechCrunch Mobility: Lyft has entered the robotaxi chat”
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