---
title: "Lyft Will Test Its Own Self-Driving Cars at an Ex-Military Base in California"
description: "Lyft will test self-driving cars at GoMentum Station in Concord, California."
date: "2018-03-08"
modified: "2018-03-08"
authors:
  - name: "Stephen Edelstein"
    job_title: "Weekend Editor"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/stephen-edelstein.md"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/tech/19094/lyft-will-test-its-own-self-driving-cars-at-an-ex-military-base-in-california"
categories:
  - "News"
tags:
  - "Autonomous Cars"
  - "California"
  - "Lyft"
  - "ride sharing"
  - "self-driving cars"
---

# Lyft Will Test Its Own Self-Driving Cars at an Ex-Military Base in California

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/2017/09/lyft_amp_05.jpg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

Lyft announced an ambitious self-driving car development program last year, but so far the company has relied primarily on partnerships with other firms to test autonomous vehicles. That's about to change, as self-driving cars designed in-house by Lyft, will soon hit the test track.

The first Lyft self-driving cars will be tested at GoMentum Station, a 5,000-acre facility built on the site of a decommissioned Navy base in Concord, California, according to [*The Verge*](<https://www.theverge.com/2018/3/8/17092324/lyft-self-driving-car-test-gomentum-station>). The facility, which has already attracted the likes of [Honda](<https://www.thedrive.com/tech/11294/honda-wants-level-4-self-driving-cars-by-2025.md>), has miles of paved roads, including grid-like streets, that allow testers to replicate real-world scenarios in a controlled environment. [Last November](<https://www.thedrive.com/self-driving-cars/16331/lyft-approved-to-test-self-driving-cars-on-public-roads-in-california.md>), Lyft got approval from the California Department of Motor Vehicles to test self-driving cars on public roads but the company hasn't offered details on its public-road testing plans.

While Lyft does have a 50,000-square-foot research and development center in Palo Alto, California, the ride-sharing company has relied on partners for real-world testing. It teamed up with startup NuTonomy on a pilot program [in Boston](<https://www.thedrive.com/tech/16779/lyft-finally-launches-its-boston-self-driving-car-pilot-program.md>) last year, is working with Drive.ai on a similar pilot in San Francisco, and [partnered with Aptiv](<https://www.thedrive.com/tech/17769/lyft-and-aptiv-self-driving-car-partnership-will-extend-beyond-ces.md>) (formerly known as Delphi) to give self-driving car demonstrations during CES 2018.

But Lyft will need to build its own fleet of cars in order to catch up with rival Uber. Despite the distraction of a yearlong legal battle with Waymo, Uber maintains fleets of test vehicles in California, Arizona, and Pennsylvania, and is now [stepping up its self-driving truck program](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/19029/ubers-self-driving-trucks-are-now-haulin-cargo-in-arizona.md>) as well. Other companies, such as General Motors, have also discussed launching their own ride-sharing services using autonomous cars.

## Author
Stephen has always been passionate about cars, and managed to turn that passion into a career as a freelance automotive journalist. When he's not handling weekend coverage for The Drive, you can find him looking for a new book to read.

### Author social links  
[Twitter](<https://twitter.com/SAEdelstein>)