Japan’s Toyota Motor Aurora InnovationAurora announced Tuesday that a U.S.-based developer of automated driving systems has started to test an autonomous ride-hailing fleet with only two safety operators aboard and no passengers.

Toyota’s Sienna Minivans with Aurora’s self-driving technology will be put to the test on Dallas-Fort-Worth roads and suburb streets. This operation also includes stops at an airport.

Startups that create autonomous vehicles are facing pressure to make meaningful revenues from the billions of engineering dollars they have invested, however scaling up their fleet remains a difficult task due to technological obstacles.

In a statement, the U.S. company stated that “the route showcases Aurora’s ability to safely run at highway speeds. This is a key technical differentiation that allows it to prioritize profitable rides.”

Waymo is a rival to Aurora. It charges drivers of driverless minivans passengers for rides within limited areas in Phoenix. Pickups at airports are not possible.

Waymo stated Monday that it was ready to launch driverless cars in densely populated San Francisco, but did not give a timeline. Read more

Aurora is led by Chris Urmson who was previously the head of Google’s self driving car project, which has now become Waymo. The company said that it will continue to add vehicles to its fleet to prepare for commercial launch via ride-hailing platforms like Uber.

Aurora purchased Uber’s ATG autonomous vehicle unit in 2020. This was after the ride-hailing giant acquired 26% of Aurora.