Uber Freight, a subsidiary of Uber Technologies, and software company Aurora Innovation have announced the launch of Premier Autonomy, a new program offering early access to over 1 billion of Aurora’s autonomous miles to Uber Freight carriers through 2030.
This program is the latest step in the partners’ ongoing collaboration to integrate and deploy autonomous trucks within the Uber Freight network, aimed at enhancing efficiency and utilization for carriers of all sizes.
The Premier Autonomy program is designed to be a simplified pathway for carriers to adopt Aurora Driver for autonomous freight hauling. Benefits of the program include a subscription service for the Aurora Driver to enable autonomous freight operations, access to over 1 billion driverless miles by 2030, and high utilization of autonomous trucks through the integration of the Aurora Driver with the Uber Freight platform.
Uber Freight will be one of Aurora’s first customers on the Dallas-to-Houston route, with driverless hauls for shippers anticipated to begin by the end of 2024.
The integration of autonomous trucking will reduce the time taken by freight transportation. For example, a trip from Dallas to Los Angeles that currently takes two to three days with a human driver could potentially be completed in a single day using the Aurora Driver.
According to Aurora’s research, autonomous trucks have the potential to be up to 32% more energy-efficient than traditional trucks through optimizing highway speeds, reducing deadhead miles and idling, and increasing vehicle use, off-peak driving and programmed eco-driving practices.
“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,” said Lior Ron, founder and chief executive officer of Uber Freight. “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.”
“With Uber Freight, we can provide hundreds of carriers priority access 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,” said Ossa Fisher, president of Aurora. “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.”