The plot points on the map for autonomous truck lanes continue to grow as driverless vehicle programs for various uses, from FedEx to Walmart, roll along. FedEx Corp. and autonomous vehicle technology maker Aurora Innovation said they’re moving ahead with the addition of an autonomous truck lane in Texas earlier than expected as part of a pilot program that began in September. Aurora has been using its autonomous trucks to haul FedEx packages the 600 miles between Dallas and Houston, including the 2021 holiday season. Some 60,000 total miles in trips have been clocked for the freight company since the pilot’s start. “Some time ago, I was asked why the general public should care about autonomous trucking. This is why,” Aurora co-founder and chief product officer Sterling Anderson said in a statement. “In six months of working with FedEx, we’ve safely, reliably and efficiently transported packages for tens of thousands of FedEx customers.” The aim with the company’s Aurora Driver technology, which is being used by FedEx, is to utilize self-driving trucks along long routes that are more taxing on human drivers. Aurora CEO Chris Urmson, in speaking with analysts earlier this month during the company’s first-quarter earnings call, pointed out the roughly 18-hour, 1,200-mile stretch between Fort Worth and El Paso as an example of where autonomy over a human driver makes sense. “The combination of distance and monotony reinforced why lanes such as Forth Worth to El Paso can be so challenging for human drivers. And it is these routes where the driver shortage is felt most acutely,” Urmson said during the conference call. Aurora has additional pilot programs running with trucking company Werner Enterprises, which was announced in April, and Uber Freight. The company also worked with Toyota on a fleet of autonomous Sienna vans for passenger