The COVID-19 pandemic is creating many problems for the car industry, and that extends to Ford’s self-driving taxis. While discussing its quarterly earnings, the company revealed that its autonomous vehicle services have been delayed from 2021 to 2022. In a statement to TechCrunch, it said it needed to “evaluate” the effect of COVID-19 on customer behavior and potentially change its strategy. It also wanted to offer future users “peace of mind” knowing that they and their packages would be safe.

Ford COO Jim Farley warned during the earnings call that the pandemic could influence society for “many years to come,” with people seeking out more ways to avoid unnecessary human contact. Chief executive Jim Hackett cited what happened in China as an example, noting that a third of car sales moved online as a result of the pandemic. Fundamental changes like these could spur adoption of driverless taxis and couriers, but could also require adjustments to everything from capacity to the involvement of humans.

Argo AI has pledged $15 million over five years, and the funding will support five faculty, along with a group of doctoral candidates. The center will work to advance autonomous vehicle tech as a whole, but it will also help Argo AI develop its next-generation technology and push into more cities. According to Argo, neither industry nor academia alone can solve the challenges of developing and deploying self-driving cars and the infrastructure needed to support them; together, though, Argo and CMU might stand a chance. Argo isn’t the first autonomous vehicle company to partner with CMU. A few years ago, Uber was charged with poaching the university’s robotics lab of top staff. It’s likely this time around CMU will be looking for a more collaborative endeavor.