Remote Drivers: A Different Take on Self-Driving Ride Hailing Services

• Vay is a German company that operates a fleet of remotely driven vehicles in Berlin, Hamburg, and Las Vegas.

• Remote drivers can bring the car to customers, who then drive it themselves.

• The company claims its service is half the cost of other ride-hailing companies.

Autonomous vehicles have been used by ride-hailing services in some parts of Europe and the United States for a few years already, but some concerns about their safety and capabilities remain.

Indeed, self-driving robotaxis have been involved in a number of high-profile incidents since they began operating on public roads, including collisions with pedestrians and causing major roadblocks.

Vay, a German company, believes it has found a workaround to the limitations currently affecting autonomous vehicles by employing remote drivers.

As the name implies, Vay’s vehicles are not actually driverless since they are remotely operated by company employees from a central location.

Using a driving station equipped with controls such as a steering wheel and pedals, these drivers pilot the car through the streets of Berlin, Hamburg, and Las Vegas with the help of cameras mounted all around the vehicles.

The catch is that these company drivers are only intended to bring the car to customers before a ride, and to park it or bring it to a charging station after a ride. Vay only operates electric vehicles.

While customers are in the car, they are in control, driving it like they would any other vehicle.

Therefore, Vay can’t strictly be considered an autonomous ride hailing service, even if its cars can operate on public streets without anyone inside.

From the user’s perspective, Vay can be more accurately thought of as an enhanced rental car service.

Customers can order a car to be delivered to their location by a remote driver, provided that they are in an area serviced by the company. Once the car reaches them, customers can use the Vay app to unlock the doors and take control of the vehicle.

From there, the experience is much like that of a traditional car sharing or renting service, with an important caveat.

Indeed, rides have to be terminated within one of two “Zones” that encompass the town center of the cities where the company operates, which makes the service ill-suited to trips that end outside of the city.

In Las Vegas, three zones are differentiated: The Purple Zone, the White Zone, and the Grey Zone.

Remote drivers can only pickup customers in the Purple Zone, which means that rides started outside of this area that includes a large proportion of the city require customers to fetch the vehicle from its parking spot themselves. In this zone, remote drivers can park the vehicle, making it possible for customers to end their trip right where they need to go without having to worry about securing the car.

The White Zone, covering a significantly larger area all around the Purple Zone, allows the customer to end a trip, but they won’t be able to have a vehicle delivered to them.

Finally, trips cannot be ended in the Grey Zone, as it is too far from the city center. Customers are allowed to drive and even stopover in this area, but they have to bring the car back to at least the White Zone in order to end their trip.

During a stopover activated in the app, Vay charges $0,05 per minute ($3 per hour) to reserve the vehicle to a single user for a period of up to 12 hours.

While its service has some limitations, Vay claims using one of its cars costs half as much as making the same trip with a competing ride-hailing company. Vay also emphasises the safety of its technology, which ensures there is always someone in control of the vehicle rather than relying on software.

It will be interesting to see if the company expands into other cities and countries and if other companies choose to prioritize this business model instead of focussing solely on fully autonomous vehicles.