Aptiv self-driving program adds Las Vegas airport to destinations

Aptiv’s autonomous vehicle program can now transport select passengers to and from Las Vegas’ airport.

Mobility company Aptiv announced Tuesday that it entered into a pilot program with McCarran International Airport, adding to a list of over 3,400 destinations around Las Vegas its self-driving vehicles serve through a partnership with Lyft.

The rides to and from the airport are not yet available to the public on the Lyft program, as Aptiv carries out advanced self-driving testing not yet approved for public rides.

“Data has shown that a significant portion of ride-hailing demand comes from passengers traveling to and from airports,” said Karl Iagnemma, president of Aptiv Autonomous Mobility in a statement. “We look forward to working with McCarran International Airport to demonstrate that self-driving cars can soon improve their customers’ mobility experience.”

The company announced the new location in conjunction with CES 2020 — two years after the first Aptiv self-driving trips were carried out at the 2018 show.

This first-of-its-kind airport access to autonomous vehicles will play into the company’s development of a production-ready Level 4 autonomous driving platform in 2022, officials said.

It will also allow Aptiv and McCarran to learn more about robotaxi usage and deployment, to optimize ground transportation in and out of the airport.

Other destinations the self-driving program serve include restaurants, hotels and entertainment venues along the Las Vegas Strip and other high-traffic locations, like the Las Vegas Convention Center.

Aptiv operates autonomous vehicles across Boston, Singapore, Las Vegas and Pittsburgh.

Aptiv entered into an autonomous driving joint venture with Hyundai Motor Group in September and upon closing, the joint venture will assume control of Aptiv’s current operations in Las Vegas.

Contact Mick Akers at makers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2920. Follow @mickakers on Twitter.