It heralds a new dawn in transportation – the world's first self-driving taxis have begun picking up passengers. Members of the public in Singapore are able to hail the autonomous vehicles using their smartphones. The service is being provided by start-up nuTonomy, which has pipped car makers like Ford and Volvo along with internet giant Google and ride-hailing service Uber to provide the robotic cars. The world's first self-driving taxis have begun picking up passengers in Singapore (pictured). Traffic during rush-hour is an ever-growing issue for commuters.

An autonomous vehicle is parked for its test drive in Singapore Wednesday, Aug. 24, 2016. The world's first self-driving taxis, operated by nuTonomy, an autonomous vehicle software startup, will be picking up passengers in Singapore starting Thursday, Aug. 25. The service will start small - six cars now, growing to a dozen by the end of the year. The ultimate goal, say nuTonomy officials, is to have a fully self-driving taxi fleet in Singapore by 2018, which will help sharply cut the number of cars on Singapore's congested roads.