“Autonomous trucking company TuSimple said Wednesday that its vehicles have now driven more than 550 completely autonomous miles on Interstate 10 between Tucson and Phoenix.”

TuSimple will own and operate the 53-foot big rig making the roughly 80-mile trip between the Tucson railyard and a distribution site near Phoenix.

“This groundbreaking autonomous driving technology and our partnership provide us a significant opportunity to scale the technology in our network, proactively reducing global supply chain congestion,” said Union Pacific, in a statement.

“On January 12, Nuro announced the coming development of its third-generation autonomous delivery vehicle. The vehicle will have twice the cargo room as its second-generation model while producing zero emissions in transport. Production of this new vehicle will take place at Nuro’s facility in southern Nevada.”

“The most popular reasons for supporting AVs were altruistic. Democrats, in particular, expressed the most interest in the fact that autonomous vehicles increase mobility for communities excluded from driving, including many wheelchair users, the blind, and seniors who are unable to drive themselves.”

“Advancements in self-driving cars are happening in Arizona, and experts and one major company believe it’s the answer to the driver shortage we’re seeing.”