Aurora opens terminal for driverless trucks in Texas

Self-driving vehicle startup Aurora Innovation, Inc. opened its first commercial-ready terminal for autonomous trucks that will serve as a “blueprint” for the Pittsburgh-based company’s future network of 24/7 driverless operations.

The terminal in Palmer, Texas, near Dallas, deploys autonomous trucks for Aurora’s pilot customers, including FedEx, Schneider, and Uber Freight, between Dallas and Houston.

Such terminals will be a key part of the company’s upcoming launch of its autonomous trucking service, dubbed Aurora Horizon, it said. Currently, the vehicles require a human inside. The company said it’s on track to be approved for driverless operations between Dallas and Houston by the end of 2024.

“Self-driving technology will fundamentally transform how we move goods,” said Kendra Phillips, vice president of service delivery at Aurora. “It’s incredibly exciting to lead the way for how to deliver commercial driverless operations to our customers and the broader industry.”

“This blueprint for next-generation autonomous terminals will be instrumental as we deploy autonomous trucks at scale across the U.S.,” Phillips said.

Aurora said it is hauling 50 customer loads a week across its two commercial routes and expects to increase its pilot hauls to 100 loads per week by the end of 2023.