Vay conquers Vegas with remotely operated rental car

After taking control of the steering wheel, users have the option to park the vehicle themselves or hand it over to a so-called "tele-driver," who controls the car via radio from a computer screen. Billing is done by the minute, as Vay announced at the start of the service. Driving costs 30 US cents per minute, while stops, for example, for shopping, are charged at 3 US cents per minute. In parallel, Vay is working to launch a comparable service in Hamburg, Germany. After a pilot phase with an exceptional permit until the end of 2023, negotiations are currently underway for an extension. For a commercial offer in this country, however, a regulation at the federal level would be necessary.

Partnership with Kia

Vay invested around five years in developing this groundbreaking technology, which is integrated into Kia vehicles. The cars were equipped with additional cameras and control technology, with costs per vehicle in the four-digit range, according to co-founder and CEO Thomas von der Ohe. Safety is ensured through quadruple signal transmission, and the transmission delay during braking is in the two-digit millisecond range, according to Vay. The tele-drivers undergo training on a closed course before they are allowed to hit the road.

"We are very pleased that we can bring our vision to life so quickly in the USA. We have been developing our technology for 5 years and are ready for the launch," explains Thomas von der Ohe, co-founder and CEO of Vey. "Our convenient, affordable, and sustainable door-to-door mobility service aims to free cities from parked cars and make them more livable and greener."