Lyft takes one step further in the race with several other companies to bring self-driving cars to the masses by obtaining the permission to test autonomous vehicles in California.
Lyft's permit, reflected on the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) website, comes two months after it announced plans to offer a self-driving car as a ride option in the San Francisco Bay Area. Lyft already has partnerships in place with autonomous car companies to advance its self-driving strategy. The firm struck a research collaboration earlier this year with Google affiliate Waymo. It has also secured deals with Ford Motor Co. and startup Nutonomy to incorporate self-driving cars in its fleet.
Lyft's chief rival Uber secured the California permit to test self-driving cars in March. Apple Inc., Samsung Electronics, Tesla Inc. and a host of automakers also have the permits.