Britain to test driverless pods

LONDON — Ford Motor Co. and Jaguar Land Rover Ltd. are teaming up with the government of the United Kingdom to test autonomous cars as an add-on to public transport systems.

The U.K. Autodrive Consortium will place 40 selfdriving transport “pods” on the streets of Milton Keynes, about 100 kilometres north of London, for six months beginning in late 2017.

The project, which is partially funded by a government grant, is part of a five-year, $186 million US effort by the U.K. to become a leader in self-driving vehicles, challenging Germany and the United States.