Las Vegas rolls out the first self-driving shuttle service in the U.S.

Even with the bright lights of CES fading away in the rearview mirror, the city of Las Vegas is still showcasing exciting tech breakthroughs this month.

This week Vegas, in partnership with NAVYA and Keolisrolled, rolled out the first trial of an all-electric, self-driving public transportation service in the country, immediately fulfilling the promise of some of the autonomous tech shown off on the convention showroom floor by putting it to work out on the streets.

According to the Las Vegas Sun, the shuttle service will run down the city's Fremont Street alongside normal traffic from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m daily until the trial period ends on Jan. 20. The route is part of a planned "Innovation District" in downtown Vegas, which the city hopes will become a center of focus for more groundbreaking projects in the future.

The NAVYA ARMA buses can hold up to 12 passengers and hit speeds of up to 27 mph, although their schlepps up and down Fremont Street will be limited to 12 mph as the trial runs its course. A fleet of ARMAs is already in service in NAVYA's native France and in Singapore, and the vehicles have been tested on US soil at the University of Michigan's Mcity facility in Ann Arbor. They debuted publicly in the U.S. last week at CES.

Anyone can catch a ride on the buses, which will offer free service throughout the trial period. Las Vegas executive director of community development Jorge Cervantes told the Sun that once a more permanent route is established as early as this summer (depending on the trial's success), he hopes it can stay that way. “Our goal is to try to make it as inexpensive as possible for people to ride, or even possibly free,” he said. Although a NAVYA rep estimates monthly service costs at $10,000, Cervantes is confident advertisers will be happy to foot the bill.

When Uber started its self-driving pilot program in Pittsburgh, it offered free rides, but those were private trips for frequent users who agreed to be part of the trial program. The Las Vegas effort is the first truly autonomous mass transit program in the U.S. And it's a huge deal for cities everywhere looking to improve their transportation services.

As the pilot program runs its course, all eyes will be on the strip. Hopefully, this won't be just another case of something happening in Vegas, staying in Vegas.