Motional and Lyft resume Las Vegas ride-share services

Motional and Lyft said their self-driving ride-share service in Las Vegas is resuming after the coronavirus pandemic paused operations earlier this year.

Motional, the joint venture between Hyundai Motor America and Aptiv, was rebranded in August and is relaunching in alignment with COVID-19 guidelines.

According to a statement from Motional on Thursday, 70 percent of Americans said the coronavirus is impacting their transportation decisions.

"Our vehicles now include a clear partition between the front and rear seats," Gretchen Effgen, vice president of marketing at Motional, told Automotive News. "At the start of each shift, all high-touch areas in the vehicle are sanitized."

Motional also supplies hand sanitizer, gloves and wipes inside the vehicle and asks riders to wear masks during their ride.

"Government partners in Las Vegas and Nevada have been instrumental in supporting the partnership and making self-driving ride-hails a reality for its residents and visitors," Motional said in the statement.

Motional has conducted 100,000 rides since 2018 and 98 percent of passengers have given the service a five-star rating.

"We've had a tremendous response from the community the entire time we've been operating the fleet and expect that to continue as we resume service," Effgen said.

Riders can book a self-driving ride with Lyft and Motional in Las Vegas by using the Lyft app and selecting a Motional car.