Volvo Autonomous Solutions, Uber Freight Announce Partnership
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Volvo Autonomous Solutions and freight broker Uber Freight announced a long-term strategic partnership to deploy Volvo’s autonomous transport network within Uber Freight’s marketplace.
The partnership aims to provide Uber Freight’s shippers with access to autonomous freight capacity on selected routes in Texas and beyond as it continues to expand its network, VAS noted in a release. VAS offers transportation-as-a-service offerings in mining, port and logistics centers and on-highway hub-to-hub segments, according to its website.
This partnership with Volvo is Uber Freight’s first with a commercial autonomous fleet, and differs from its earlier partnerships with Aurora and Waymo, according to Uber Freight.
“Aurora and Waymo are autonomous vehicle technology developers, who in the near-term, are running pilots on our platform,” Olivia Hu, Uber Freight's head of autonomous, told Transport Topics. “VAS is a near-term and long-term autonomous capacity provider. In essence, Aurora and Waymo will be pure technology, driver-as-a-service in the long-term, whereas VAS will be transportation-as-a-service in the long-term. Uber Freight hopes to continue to expand the selection of autonomous fleets on our platform with whom shippers can directly choose to book transportation within the next few years.”
Today, Volvo Autonomous Solutions announces a partnership with Uber Freight.
A collaboration that enables the integration of Volvo's autonomous transport solutions with @UberFreight's logistics platform.
Find out more: https://t.co/QN2hcG1nfQ#autonomous #autonomoussolutions pic.twitter.com/6bNvBOvQkG — Volvo Group (@VolvoGroup) December 14, 2022
VAS is also working with self-driving technology developer Aurora to scale its Aurora Driver technology on Volvo’s on-highway truck offering. In September 2021, the two companies debuted the first autonomous VNL prototype, Volvo’s flagship longhaul truck.
“The shippers we work with are innovative and often early adopters of emerging technology. Our ability to expand access to VAS autonomous transport solutions unlocks greater access to reliable capacity, improving the efficiency and sustainability of their supply chains,” Uber Freight CEO Lior Ron said in a release.
Ron
VAS and Uber Freight both, and many others as well, envision a future where autonomous and manually driven trucks will work together to move goods more safely and efficiently under a hub-to-hub model. Under this model, autonomous trucks will take on the longhaul portion of the delivery while human drivers complete drayage operations.
“By integrating our autonomous transport solution with Uber Freight’s expansive network, we are offering shippers the possibility to move goods more efficiently while addressing some of the biggest challenges of the industry — transit times, empty miles and a shortage of drivers,” said Nils Jaeger, president of Volvo Autonomous Solutions.
The Uber Freight partnership is a part of VAS’s key customer program for shippers, carriers, logistics service providers and freight brokers. As a part of the program, VAS reported it is forming strategic partnerships with key customers to pilot and eventually commercialize autonomous transport solutions.
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