Aurora lands McLane deal to run driverless truck routes in Texas

Aurora Innovation will start hauling loads in driverless trucks for distribution giant McLane, the latest company to adopt the startup’s autonomous vehicle technology following a multi-year pilot program. Under the commercial agreement announced Wednesday, trucks outfitted with Aurora’s self-driving system will be used to transport goods between Dallas and Houston. These trucks will operate autonomously and will not have a human safety driver on board who can take over. However, Aurora will still have what it describes as a “human observer” sitting in the cab — who does not operate the vehicle — per an agreement it has with truck manufacturer Paccar. Aurora said it plans to expand to new routes between McLane distribution centers across the U.S. Sun Belt by the end of the year. The companies launched a pilot program in 2023 using autonomous trucks with a human safety operator. The pilot eventually expanded to two round-trips daily between Dallas and Houston. McLane recently approved moving to driverless operations, which now run seven days a week between the two Texas cities. The companies are taking a novel approach to this route, using Aurora’s driverless tech for the long-haul portion of the trip before handing it over to a McLane truck driver who makes local deliveries to customers like fast food restaurants. Aurora said this handoff occurs at the company’s Dallas and Houston terminals located right off the freeway. …