Driverless cabs may be as little as two years away

Melbourne could have driverless cabs in two to seven years, according to fresh projections by Infrastructure Victoria.

Timna Jacks.

Between 2020 and 2025, driverless taxi fleets, operating much like self-driving Ubers, could be cruising on specific roads within a controlled area in Melbourne, it's predicted.

If the forecast outlined in a new report by the expert body seems farfetched, consider plans by Google’s self-driving spin-off, Waymo, to introduce a driverless taxi service in Arizona by the end of this year.

“The technology is ready to be deployed in the US, and therefore we say if that’s already being deployed out there, then technically it could be developed over here,” said Michel Masson, chief executive of Infrastructure Victoria, which is tasked with advising the government on its electric and autonomous vehicle policies.

Read the story from The Age by Timna Jacks - “Driverless cabs may be as little as two years away.”