Waymo, Alphabet’s autonomous driving subsidiary, has announced driverless passenger services for employees. The service announced on Tuesday, 5 February, will be available for its employees in Austin, Texas, commencing Wednesday, 6 February.
The service coverage spans 43 square miles within Austin, encompassing key areas such as downtown Austin, Barton Hills, Riverside, East Austin, and Hyde Park. Waymo disclosed its intention to extend the Waymo One ride-hailing programme to the general public in Austin at a later date. The Waymo One programme, was launched in 2018, allowing users to hail self-driving taxis in certain areas.
This expansion positions Austin as the fourth city for Waymo One, joining San Francisco, Phoenix, and Los Angeles.
This strategic move by Waymo comes as its primary competitor, Cruise, a General Motors-owned company, has temporarily halted US operations following a pedestrian-dragging incident.
Approval from the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has enabled Waymo to launch fully driverless robo-taxi services in Los Angeles and several neighbouring cities near San Francisco.
Waymo has been a pioneer in the development of autonomous driving technology, utilising a combination of advanced sensors, machine learning algorithms, and extensive real-world testing to achieve a high level of autonomy.
