Chinese autonomous vehicle startup Pony.ai has received a permit from California's Department of Motor Vehicles to test its driverless cars without human safety drivers behind the wheel on specified streets in three cities. Pony has been authorized to test autonomous vehicles with safety drivers in California since 2017, but the new permit will let it test six autonomous vehicles without safety drivers on specific streets in Fremont, Alameda County; Milpitas, Santa Clara County; and Irvine, Orange County. According to the DMV, the vehicles are designed to be driven on roads with speed limits of 45 miles per hour or less, in clear weather and light precipitation. The first testing will be in Fremont and Milpitas on weekdays between 10AM and 3PM. A total of 55 companies have active permits to test driverless vehicles in California according to the DMV, but Pony is only the eighth company to receive a driverless testing permit, joining fellow Chinese companies AutoX, Baidu, and WeRide, along with US companies Cruise, Nuro, Waymo, and Zoox.

Members of the public are being given the opportunity to test a driverless vehicle for the first time. Around 100 people will travel in a prototype shuttle on a two-mile route near London's O2 Arena over the next three weeks. It is hoped the project could make it easier for smaller neighbourhoods in Greenwich to access existing public transport hubs. Around 100 people will travel in a prototype shuttle (pictured) on a two-mile route near London's O2 Arena over the next three weeks Around 100 people will travel in a prototype shuttle on a two-mile route near London's O2 Arena over the next three weeks. Five cameras and three lasers will help the vehicle navigate along a riverside path used by pedestrians and cyclists at up to 10mph.