Waymo, the self-driving tech development unit of Google’s parent company Alphabet, has expanded its robotaxi service in downtown Phoenix, Arizona to include trips to and from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport–the first commercial robotaxi service to offer rides to and from an airport in the US.
The rides are now open to trusted tester program members. Initially, the riders will be accompanied by a human safety driver to take control if needed, with plans to launch full driverless operations in the coming weeks.
The service will be offered around the clock on a five-mile stretch between downtown Phoenix and an airport shuttle stop. The company claims prices are similar to that of Uber or Lyft but will not include surge pricing.
Alphabet’s autonomous vehicle technology arm, Waymo, focuses on both goods and passenger transportation. Its “Waymo One” division focuses on autonomous ride-hailing services while “Waymo Via” is dedicated to autonomous cargo transportation. The vehicles under both units are powered by “Waymo Driver,” its autonomous driving technology platform.
Analyst QuickTake: Waymo first opened its safety driver-accompanied robotaxi service to trusted members in downtown Phoenix in May and also began testing airport rides with employees in downtown Phoenix at the time. Later in August, the company went on to launch fully-driverless operations to trusted member partners in the area.
By using this site, you agree to allow SPEEDA Edge and our partners to use cookies for analytics and personalization. Visit our privacy policy for more information about our data collection practices.