Self-driving vans now on Arlington's city streets

ARLINGTON, Texas - Self-driving vans will be on some streets in Arlington beginning Friday.

The city and Drive.ai are launching the first on-street, self-driving shuttle service in Texas. Rides in the three-passenger vehicle are free.

People can request a ride at kiosks in the service area. There will also be an app available next week for people to call for a ride in the limited service area near the city’s sports and entertainment district.

“There is a driver all the time in the car in case something needs to be taken care of, so there is no risk we are taking there,” said Bijit Halder, the CEO of Drive.ai.

“They’re operating mostly within our entertainment district and we’ve got a couple stops in the area. One is at our convention center, one is at Texas Live and in a few weeks we’ll have another one at a local office park as well,” said Lyndsay Mitchell with the city of Arlington.

The city’s partnership with Drive.ai is a one-year test program.

Arlington is the largest city in the country without traditional mass transit.