Lyft has “no plans to slow down [its] self-driving programs,” said David Baga, Chief Business Officer of the ride-hailing app.
“We remain focused on our self-driving program, so we continue to develop, and test, and eventually deploy self-driving,” he told Cheddar Thursday.
His comments come in light of Uber’s fatal driverless car crash in Arizona last week, which forced that company to hit the brakes on all its autonomous testing. Nvidia and Toyota paused their programs, too.
The Uber incident, thought to be the first involving a self-driving vehicle, also sparked a wide-ranging debate about whether the entire industry needs more oversight.
Ironically, though, Waymo, the self-driving unit of Google parent Alphabet, took the opportunity to jump further into its autonomous business, announcing a collaboration with Jaguar Land Rover this week to roll out driverless SUVs by 2020.
Jaguar’s Product Planning Manager Dave Larsen [reiterated](https://cheddar.com/videos/jaguar-exec-waymos-technology-would-have-avoided-ubers-fatal-crash) his faith that Waymo’s technology and software “would’ve been able to avoid” the tragedy that involved Uber’s car.
- **Related:** [Watch](https://cheddar.com/videos/first-look-at-the-waymo-powered-jaguar-i-pace-suv) Jaguar’s Dave Larsen give Cheddar a first look at the Waymo-powered I-PACE at the New York International Auto Show.
For its part, Lyft dove into the autonomous industry last year when it announced it will start creating the technology in-house. Prior to that, the company was working with third-parties like Ford and Boston-based nuTonomy, essentially offloading the larger costs of the projects.
Driverless tech aside, Lyft is also gaining ground on its main rival in the core ride-hailing business. As Uber has faced one scandal after another, Lyft is picking up the slack.
Its Business unit saw share of the corporate travel space rise to more than 18 percent in the fourth quarter, compared to 7.7 percent the year before. It also expects to hit a $1 billion run rate for revenue by the end of the year.
For full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/lyft-cbo-no-plans-to-slow-down-self-driving-technology).
The Rev. Al Sharpton is set to lead a protest march on Wall Street to urge corporate America to resist the Trump administration’s campaign to roll back diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. The New York civil rights leader will join clergy, labor and community leaders Thursday in a demonstration through Manhattan’s Financial District that’s timed with the anniversary of the Civil Rights-era March on Washington in 1963. Sharpton called DEI the “civil rights fight of our generation." He and other Black leaders have called for boycotting American retailers that scaled backed policies and programs aimed at bolstering diversity and reducing discrimination in their ranks.
President Donald Trump's administration last month awarded a $1.2 billion contract to build and operate what's expected to become the nation’s largest immigration detention complex to a tiny Virginia firm with no experience running correction facilities.
Chipmaker Nvidia is poised to release a quarterly report that could provide a better sense of whether the stock market has been riding an overhyped artificial intelligence bubble or is being propelled by a technological boom that’s still gathering momentum.
Cracker Barrel said late Tuesday it’s returning to its old logo after critics — including President Donald Trump — protested the company’s plan to modernize.
Low-value imports are losing their duty-free status in the U.S. this week as part of President Donald Trump's agenda for making the nation less dependent on foreign goods. A widely used customs exemption for international shipments worth $800 or less is set to end starting on Friday. Trump already ended the “de minimis” rule for inexpensive items sent from China and Hong Kong, but having to pay import taxes on small parcels from everywhere else likely will be a big change for some small businesses and online shoppers. Purchases that previously entered the U.S. without needing to clear customs will be subject to the origin country’s tariff rate, which can range from 10% to 50%.
Southwest Airlines will soon require plus-size travelers to pay for an extra seat in advance if they can't fit within the armrests of one seat. This change is part of several updates the airline is making. The new rule starts on Jan. 27, the same day Southwest begins assigning seats. Currently, plus-size passengers can pay for an extra seat in advance and later get a refund, or request a free extra seat at the airport. Under the new policy, refunds are still possible but not guaranteed. Southwest said in a statement it is updating policies to prepare for assigned seating next year.
Cracker Barrel is sticking with its new logo. For now. But the chain is also apologizing to fans who were angered when the change was announced last week.
Elon Musk on Monday targeted Apple and OpenAI in an antitrust lawsuit alleging that the iPhone maker and the ChatGPT maker are teaming up to thwart competition in artificial intelligence.
