Vay, an app-based teledriving service, has announced an expansion beyond the University District where it has been operating since January. The Berlin-based company’s technology allows a remote “driver” to send electric vehicles to customers who order one through the app. How it works: The driverless car arrives, and the customer then drives the car to their destination, gets out, and then the teledriver drives the car to the next destination or parks it.

Vay’s expansion includes the Strip, Chinatown and the College of Southern Nevada West Charleston campus. According to a news release, the drop-off zone for one-way journeys is expanding to cover central Las Vegas.

“Las Vegas is one of the first cities in the world to have a driverless offering available to users across the majority of an urban center. … This is a major milestone as we’re now more widely available, across a larger area, and closer to achieving our mission to provide affordable, convenient mobility for everyone. This expansion is part of our broader mission to solve transportation challenges in metropolitan areas—namely parking and congestion,” a Vay spokesman said in a statement.

Vay has professionally trained teledrivers equipped with a steering wheel, pedals and other vehicle controls “developed to meet automotive industry standards,” according to the company. Car surroundings are reproduced via camera sensors and transmitted to screens at the company’s teledrive station. Additionally, road traffic sounds like emergency vehicles are transmitted to the teldriver’s headphones via microphones. 

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