• Waymo Via, Google Waymo’s unit dedicated to autonomous cargo transportation, has partnered with fleet management solutions provider Ryder System, for autonomous truck service and maintenance facilities for Waymo Via's Class 8 autonomous trucks at their sites in Texas, Arizona, California, Michigan, and Ohio, and for roadside services between hubs.

• The service would initially begin from Waymo’s facility in Dallas, Texas, once Waymo starts commercial operations. The two companies have already collaborated in deciding the layout and design of the Dallas facility to ensure its ability to maintain trucks, while optimizing the planned transfer hub model.

<ul><li>This marks the second such partnership within the autonomous truck industry, following its rival TuSimple’s partnership with Ryder last month. TuSimple plans to utilize Ryder’s selected fleet maintenance facilities, starting from Southern US, with the potential to scale operations to include more than 500 of Ryder’s maintenance facilities nationwide.</ul>

• Google’s autonomous vehicle technology arm, Waymo, focuses on both goods and passenger transportation. “Waymo Via” is dedicated to autonomous cargo transportation, including trucking, and its vehicles are powered by “Waymo Driver,” its autonomous driving technology platform. The company has been testing its self-driving trucks since 2018 in various projects in California, Georgia, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas.