• The introduction of Uber's robotaxi is a result of a non-exclusive 10-year contract.
• Los Angeles will be the launch city for the robotaxi.
• Additionally announcing intentions to introduce robotaxis in the city is rival Lyft.

The public robotaxi service was introduced on Wednesday in Las Vegas by US ride-hailing company Uber Technologies and manufacturer of driverless vehicles Motional. Robotaxi service rollout has been delayed due to strict regulatory scrutiny and a delay in the commercial acceptance of autonomous vehicle technology, which has scared investors. The deployment in Los Angeles is anticipated to follow the debut, which is a component of a non-exclusive 10-year agreement for driverless vehicles between the two businesses.

In the multi-market agreement, Uber and its Uber Eats branch would also use Motional's autonomous vehicles to transport both passengers and delivery products. In the multi-market agreement, Uber and its Uber Eats branch would also use Motional's autonomous vehicles to transport both passengers and delivery products. The businesses stated that they will have drivers for the vehicles for the time being, but they were striving to make a totally driverless experience accessible to the public in 2019. 

Before the autonomous journey is confirmed and a driver is sent to pick up the passenger, Uber will match the rider to the closest available autonomous car and present them with an opt-in offer. Following a brief hiatus, Uber is restarting its robotaxi plans after selling its autonomous car research section to San Francisco-based firm Aurora in 2020.

Additionally, Uber has agreed to a 10-year contract with driverless delivery startup Nuro to use the latter's services in Texas and California. Following its rollout in Las Vegas earlier this year, rival Lyft announced last month that it would introduce its robotaxi service in Los Angeles.

Motional, a joint venture between the South Korean automaker Hyundai and the automotive technology firm Aptiv, has been testing autonomous vehicles without safety drivers for a few years. Motional uses Hyundai's IONIQ5 electric vehicle for the robotaxi service.