Uber, Otto Talk About Plans to Transform Trucking

Photo via Otto blog

The term "Uber for trucking" is at risk of becoming a generic term, being used for a variety of new apps aimed at automating the load booking process – but Uber is making big plans to make "Uber for trucking" a reality, according to a new report from Reuters.

With its recent acquisition of self-driving truck startup Otto, Reuters notes, "Uber Technologies Inc. is plotting its entry into the long-haul trucking business, aiming to establish itself as a freight hauler and a technology partner for the industry.... Uber aims to ultimately transform the competitive and fragmented $700 billion-a-year trucking industry, which is notorious for low margins."

Otto, for instance, plans to expand its fleet of trucks from six to about 15, Reuters reports, and is reaching out to independent truckers and fleets, Otto co-founder Lior Ron told Reuters in an interview. Ron told Reuters that "thousands" of owner-operatorss have reached out to the company.

"Starting next year, Otto-branded trucks and others equipped with Otto technology will begin hauling freight bound for warehouses and stores, he said."

There's been a lot of skepticism within the industry about "driverless trucks," although there does seem to be a lot of potential to use autonomous technologies for fuel-saving truck "platoons" and as advanced driver assist systems to make driving easier and safer. The recent IAA commercial vehicles show in Germany that I attended last week highlighted many of these up-and-coming technologies.

But truly autonomous trucks are not realistic in the near future. It's not so much the technology itself (which is nothing short of amazing stuff from my teenage sci-fi dreams), but addressing questions about liability, regulations, and public attitudes.

However, retrofitting trucks with Otto's autonomous driving technology is only part of Uber's long-term plan. For the short term, it's also ...Read the rest of this story

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