Driverless rides on the Lyft app will expand beyond Las Vegas in 2023

Las Vegas has long been the only place where you can request a Lyft ride and be greeted by a self-driving car.

But on Wednesday, Lyft and autonomous car company Motional announced driverless taxis will ferry passengers around more cities starting in 2023.

For the past three years, self-driving BMWs with sensors and cameras on top were only available in Las Vegas as part of a pilot program. A safety driver was always in the car and trips were limited to certain parts of the Nevada city.

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As part of this expansion, Motional will deploy new driverless Hyundai vehicles. Earlier this year Lyft's self-driving partner in Vegas, Aptiv, joined forces with Hyundai Motor Group to launch Motional, an autonomous driving joint venture. The self-driving cars in Vegas were rebranded as Motional cars in October.

Those cars in Vegas have sensor-loaded BMWs available for autonomous pick-ups. But with the expansion, Hyundai's self-driving tech and vehicles will power the next generation of Lyft-Motional vehicles. The company says these new vehicles will no longer require a safety driver in the front seat.

SEE ALSO: After coronavirus shutdown, self-driving cars on Lyft will pick up passengers again

Although Lyft and Motional haven't announced which cities will offer the robotaxi service, the self-driving program will continue to use Lyft for booking and customer interaction through the app. So look out for it in cities in the U.S. (and Canada) where ordering a Lyft driven by a human is currently available.

Until then, the Lyft-Motional program will continue in Vegas while we wait for the new taxis to arrive elsewhere.