ATLANTA — Rivaling Uber’s partnership with Waymo, Lyft has launched its own autonomous vehicle service in Midtown Atlanta in collaboration with May Mobility.

The service will initially operate in a seven square mile area and feature Toyota Sienna minivans. For now, the vehicles will only be available during weekday business hours and select weekend evenings.

Each ride will include a human operator on board as a precaution, but Lyft says its long-term goal is to eventually deploy fully driverless cars once more data is gathered about performance and rider readiness.

The company says prices for autonomous rides will be in line with normal Lyft rates. Customers requesting a ride within the service area will have the option to be matched with one of the robo-taxis.

Atlanta riders may already be familiar with self-driving cars, as Waymo has been operating autonomous vehicles in the city through its partnership with Uber. Lyft’s launch marks another step in the growing presence of driverless technology on local roads.

WSB’s Judd Hickinbotham contributed to this story