Lyft forms own autonomous vehicle unit, will open network

The San Francisco-based ride-hailing service said it will open its network, inviting automakers and tech companies to use it to haul passengers in their self-driving vehicles and gather data.

Raj Kapoor, the company's chief strategy officer, says Lyft is pursuing the open strategy as a way to bring the environmental and safety benefits of autonomous vehicles to market faster.

Like other tech companies and automakers, Lyft has partnerships with companies like Google's Waymo autonomous vehicle operation and with General Motors.

The company, which carries passengers in 350 cities worldwide, says even when autonomous vehicles are in operation, it will still have humans in the driver's seat.