What began operating

Einride and EASE Logistics announced October 6 that two cabless battery-electric trucks are running scheduled daily freight moves between EASE warehouses in Marysville, Ohio. The route uses EASE property and local public roads.

The companies classify the vehicles as SAE Level 4. No driver or other person is in the cab; an off-site remote operator monitors each truck and can intervene if needed. The trucks began generating operational data in September, but the companies did not publish miles, loads, uptime or safety-performance totals with the announcement.

What it means for drivers and fleets

This is a limited warehouse-to-warehouse deployment, not authorization for nationwide driverless service. It is part of the Ohio-Indiana Truck Automation Corridor Project, an $8.8 million multi-year initiative involving the Ohio and Indiana transportation departments and DriveOhio.

For drivers and fleets, the meaningful change is that two purpose-built trucks have moved from a planned proof of concept into daily freight operations on a defined local route. The announcement does not change CDL rules, hours-of-service requirements or driver qualifications for conventional trucks, and it does not announce a job reduction.

What remains unknown

The companies say they will use miles driven, loads moved and uptime to guide the next phase and potential expansion discussions. They did not publish the exact public-road segment, operating hours, cargo, route mileage, performance data or an expansion date.

Drivers should distinguish remote monitoring from an onboard safety driver: these trucks are described as operating without anyone in the cab, while a remote operator watches off-site. Future routes or a larger fleet would require separate operational and regulatory milestones.

Primary sources and supporting records

Related CDL practice

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