First robo-taxis allowed in Moscow from 2024

Driverless taxis should be able to be deployed in the Russian capital Moscow in four years’ time, according to the country’s deputy transport minister Alexei Semyonov.

Russia-based multinational Yandex is trialling 100 units on Moscow’s streets at the moment.

Russian news agency Tass reported Semyonov’s announcement: “If we efficiently start implementing the plan we are developing on the basis of our stakeholder authorities and key companies – these are the Transport Ministry, the Interior Ministry and the Ministry of Industry and Trade – then, I believe, the year of 2024 is the period when we can launch driverless taxis.”

The Russian government has pledged to make the development of connected and autonomous vehicles one of its priorities in the field of transport within the next few years.

Yandex is working with Hyundai Mobis to develop software and hardware systems for self-driving cars, signing a memorandum of understanding last year with a stated aim of creating a self-driving platform that can be used by any car manufacturer or taxi fleet.

Source: www.itsinternational.com