Vay expands its teledrive car service in Las Vegas

Get a loan is launching its teledriving car service, an Uber-like service where your car is driven by someone in a remote location. The company is expanding its fleet of cars and building an 8,500-square-foot production facility in Las Vegas.

You may not have heard of tele-driving before, but I was able to try it out at CES 2024 Last year. With Vay, you can order a car to pick you up. A Vay driver sitting in a building with a bunch of screens in front of him drives the car to you remotely. For observers, this will be like a self-driving car coming to pick you up. But one has full control over the car – from a distance.

Then you can get into the car and drive it around to where you want to go. When you're done, you hand it back to the remote driver, who can drive the car to its next destination. If you are good at racing video games, remote driving could be a good job for you.

It's a very interesting concept for a new type of service – one that gives drivers more privacy than a taxi or Uber. It can be more cost-effective as a per-minute rental service than other ride-sharing solutions. And it could be safer than a self-driving car because a person is always in control of the car.

The company started its pilot service last year and is now expanding its door-to-door remote driving service in 2025 to 100 vehicles in Las Vegas. Vay has acquired a state-of-the-art production facility in Las Vegas to build its fleet of electric vehicles, which are equipped with cameras and sensors.

This facility, which is designed to process up to 16 vehicles per week, will be Vay's primary hardware production and deployment center for the United States. Vay also has a town center dedicated to fleet preparation and maintenance. The facility will make the most of Vay's Kia e-Niro fleet build-out, which will serve as a hub for hardware deployment.

Vay is actively hiring remote drivers to support car and truck operations, as remote truck driving services will begin soon.

Vay provides services throughout downtown Las Vegas, including the Strip, the busiest hotels, and nearby attractions. It has become popular because it offers a seamless way to travel around the city and its surroundings. Since its launch a year ago, users have taken more than 6,000 trips.

“This new facility and our fleet expansion highlight Vay's commitment to serving our growing customer base in Las Vegas, ensuring a seamless experience for all a person who asks for our vehicles,” he said. Thomas Von der Ohe, CEO of Vay, in a statement. “This investment is an important milestone for Vay's growth and will play an important role in increasing our offerings.”

Vay distance driving services

Through the Vay app, users can request an electric vehicle to be delivered remotely to their location. After the car arrives, the user takes over and drives it as a normal car. At the end of the trip, the user completes the rental in the application, leaves the car, and a remote driver takes over, eliminating the time-consuming search for parking. Vay's per-minute rental service costs half as much as current ride-sharing options, is a more economical alternative to autonomous driving, and doesn't require costly subscription fees .

Vay aims to make remote driving services accessible to everyone through its commercial solutions, which provide affordable and sustainable door-to-door mobility. With a seamless experience from vehicle delivery to return, users have full control and privacy, traveling at their own pace in a safe, personal environment. In addition, Vay's remote driving technology increases the efficiency of the all-electric fleet, reducing the number of cars needed in urban areas and contributing to greener cities, with less compression.

Vay has also recently expanded its offerings to include B2B services, which enable remote driving for private cars, trucks, vans and autonomous vehicles, among others .

The future of mobility jobs: remote drivers

Remote driving introduces a completely new and unique role that combines safety and flexibility. Remote drivers work from an office environment with colleagues, get regular breaks, and avoid spending long periods away from home. Unlike traditional driving positions, they are compensated each time rather than each time, providing more stability. This setup also creates a safer and more attractive work environment.

The Vay Remote Driving Academy offers a comprehensive training program that prepares remote drivers for professional driving on public roads. Through rigorous training and advanced technology, remote drivers gain the skills to operate with confidence while maintaining a safe and protective driving style. One of the things that came in handy while I was riding: the remote driver said things like “I see the stop sign ahead” to reassure the passenger that they were paying attention.

Vay Remote Drive Technology

Professionally trained remote drivers sit at a remote driving station with a steering wheel, pedals, and other vehicle controls developed according to automotive industry standards. The service operates around the clock, with Vay operating in Las Vegas from 6:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Camera sensors reproduce the car's surroundings and transmit them to the screens of the remote driving station. Road traffic sounds, such as emergency vehicles and other enhanced warning signals, are sent to the remote driver's headphones via microphones.

Vay develops and operates remote driving technology with a strong emphasis on safety. This includes a focus on Operational Safety (ISO 26262) and Cybersecurity (ISO 21434). To confirm Vay's high safety standards, TÜV Süd, an internationally recognized independent third-party organization specializing in testing, certification, inspection and consulting services, has verified Vay's technology and to confirm positively.