September 23, 2022

Self-driving car startup that lost permit in California coming to Tucson

The company lost its permit after the state found it had failed to monitor safety drivers' records.

Autonomous vehicle startup Pony.ai will soon test self-driving cars in Tucson after losing its testing permit in California.

The company lost the permit in California earlier this year because the state found it was failing to monitor the driving records of its safety drivers. Before that, the state suspended its driverless permit after one of its autonomous cars was involved in a crash that included no injuries or other vehicles.

The Silicon Valley and China-based company will partner with Pima Community College and said it will test cars with trained safety drivers behind the wheel.

“We are excited to welcome Pony.ai to Tucson as the next site of their autonomous vehicle pilot," Tucson Mayor Regina Romero said in a press release.

A spokesperson from the mayor’s office confirmed that they were aware of the suspension and did not find it disqualifying.

A spokesperson for the Arizona Department of Transportation said via email that the company has met the requirements to test cars with safety drivers and would not comment on the suspension.

Pony.ai’s spokesperson was not available for comment.

By posting comments, you agree to our
AZPM encourages comments, but comments that contain profanity, unrelated information, threats, libel, defamatory statements, obscenities, pornography or that violate the law are not allowed. Comments that promote commercial products or services are not allowed. Comments in violation of this policy will be removed. Continued posting of comments that violate this policy will result in the commenter being banned from the site.

By submitting your comments, you hereby give AZPM the right to post your comments and potentially use them in any other form of media operated by this institution.
AZPM is a service of the University of Arizona and our broadcast stations are licensed to the Arizona Board of Regents who hold the trademarks for Arizona Public Media and AZPM. We respectfully acknowledge the University of Arizona is on the land and territories of Indigenous peoples.
The University of Arizona