Pittsburgh-based Aurora Innovation announced Tuesday it would be partnering with Uber Freight to launch Premier Autonomy, a program providing access to driverless miles to freight carriers through 2030.
The program would give carriers early access to over 1 billion of Aurora’s driverless miles, officials said. The program is the latest move in Aurora’s partnership with Uber Freight as they work to deploy autonomous trucks on the Uber Freight network and allow carriers to improve efficiency through autonomous technology.
“Uber Freight and Aurora see a tremendous opportunity to democratize autonomous trucks for carriers of all sizes, enabling them to drive more revenue, scale their fleets, and strengthen their bottom lines,” Lior Ron, founder and chief executive officer of Uber Freight, said. “Autonomous trucks will make moving goods more efficient, and this industry-first program will help facilitate and accelerate the adoption of autonomous trucks with our carriers. We’re proud to work alongside the amazing team at Aurora to bring this technology into the hands of carriers and ultimately usher in a new era of logistics.”
Uber Freight will be one of Aurora’s first customers on its Dallas-to-Houston freight route. Aurora’s driverless hauls for shippers are expected to begin toward the end of the year in 2024.
“With Uber Freight, we can provide hundreds of carriers Premier Autonomy to autonomous truck capacity that they wouldn’t otherwise have. Working with carriers of all sizes is one of the many ways we will transform the industry and see thousands of driverless trucks on the road,” Ossa Fisher, president of Aurora, said. “It’s exciting and validating that companies like Uber Freight are reserving our long-term capacity for their customers. We all see collective value in this offering.”