Ford bringing Chariot's on-demand shuttles to 8 cities this yearJanuary 10, 2017 - 18:42 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - When Ford bought up San Francisco-based public transit alternative Chariot last year, the automaker promised to roll its private commuter shuttle service out to even more cities in 2017. At the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Ford CEO Mark Fields stepped up that goal to include eight new cities in 2017, plus one outside the US, Engadget reports. Fields didn't specify yet which cities Chariot's Ford Transit shuttles would be popping up in, but as he told TechCrunch the company plans to analyze the needs of each market before adding service. As the newest piece of Ford's Smart Mobility subsidiary, Chariot currently operates in San Francisco and Austin, running along popular morning and evening commute routes. The service falls somewhere between ridesharing and public transit -- riders use a smartphone app to secure seats, but they still have to catch the bus at a certain time along the prescribed route. In San Francisco, at least, the company started with one line and added more as demand increased and the company is currently running a test program to get people around Lake Tahoe. While a new ridesharing option might be a godsend for many weary commuters in the short term, in the long term Ford hopes to improve infrastructure as a whole through closer partnerships between cities and transportation providers. And with the goal of launching autonomous ridesharing by 2021, those Chariots could be driving themselves in the next five years. Top stories Yerevan will host the 2024 edition of the World Congress On Information Technology (WCIT). Rustam Badasyan said due to the lack of such regulation, the state budget is deprived of VAT revenues. Krisp’s smart noise suppression tech silences ambient sounds and isolates your voice for calls. Gurgen Khachatryan claimed that the "illegalities have been taking place in 2020." Partner news Most popular in the section | Czech-Armenian military cooperation discussed in Yerevan A delegation led by the Director General for the Industrial Cooperation Division of the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic visited Armenia. U.S. welcomes efforts to define Armenia-Azerbaijan border The United States welcomes efforts to define the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, says Vedant Patel. Biden honors resilience of Armenian people on April 24 U.S. President Joe Biden has issued a statement on the 109th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. Ex-Karabakh leader moved to solitary confinement cell in Baku, his son says David Vardanyan is the son of former Karabakh leader Ruben Vardanyan who who is currently imprisoned in Azerbaijan. |