Ride-hailing startup Lyft Inc. has once again boosted its efforts to deploy self-driving vehicles with the announcement of a new partnership with Cambridge, Massachusetts-based self-driving vehicle software maker nuTonomy.

The deal, described as a strategic research and development partnership “focused on understanding and optimizing the end-to-end experience of autonomous vehicle passengers,” will see both companies aligning their platforms to improve research and insights into self-driving car technology. In addition, Lyft will launch a limited pilot in Boston in coming months using nuTonomy driverless vehicles in a passenger revenue service.

Both companies enter the deal with existing partnerships and running trials. nuTonomy could be said to be ahead of the game versus Lyft and Uber Technologies Inc., having rolled out the world’s first self-driving taxi test in August last year followed by a self-driving car partnership with GrabTaxi Holdings Pte Ltd. in September. By contrast, Lyft has more recent deals with General Motors Co. and Alphabet Inc.’s Waymo.

“By combining forces with Lyft in the U.S., we’ll be positioned to build the best passenger experience for self-driving cars,” nuTonomy co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Karl Lagnemma said in a statement. “Both companies care immensely about solving urban transportation issues and the future of our cities.”

The deal is another boost for Lyft’s self-driving efforts at a time when chief rival Uber is in all sorts of trouble with its own efforts. The company is accused of stealing Waymo’s self-driving car technology in a lawsuit first lodged in February. No final decision has been made in the case, but Uber recently fired self-driving car head Anthony Levandowski, the man at the center of the allegations.

Uber remains upbeat on its self-driving future, and it recently announced it’s entering the nascent self-driving truck market. But it would appear that the serious, most advanced players in self-driving vehicles are all lining up behind Lyft now, giving it a much stronger position going forward.

Photo: raidokaldma/Flickr