Waymo's self-driving cars are starting to drive in San Francisco.
After successfully offering ride-hailing services in Phoenix, Arizona over the past few years, Waymo has expanded its Waymo One self-driving cab service to the busy streets of San Francisco, California.
The service in San Francisco was launched on Tuesday and is still in the pilot phase, as all first-time passengers participate in an invitation-only Trusted Tester research program. They are also accompanied by a safe driver in case of emergencies, and the service is limited to a small area fenced off by a geofence.
Waymo will gradually roll out the service to more passengers and use their feedback to shape the service before a public launch, the date of which has yet to be announced. In Phoenix, Waymo has been offering the first rides in a trial mode since 2017, and a public launch was planned for 2020, which was delayed by Covid-19. According to the company, the Phoenix-based service has offered tens of thousands of rides since October 2020.
Waymo has been testing self-driving cars in San Francisco for more than 12 years, from when the company was still a development team for parent company Google. Earlier this year, the company began offering self-driving cars to its employees in San Francisco.
For the San Francisco service, Waymo uses a Jaguar I-Pace electric crossover. For the Phoenix service, Chrysler Pacifica minivans are used. These vehicles are driven by Waymo Driver's proprietary automated driving system. This system has an SAE Level 4 rating for automated driving capabilities. Level 5 is the ultimate goal, meaning that the system can drive the car at the same level as a human.
Waymo's long-term goal is to develop robust and reliable automated driving systems for the world's roads. The company does not plan to produce self-driving cars, but will offer the technology as a service or directly to other companies on a licensing basis. The company is developing systems for both passenger cars and commercial vehicles such as vans and semi-trailer trucks. Waymo's self-driving car delivery service will be known as Waymo Via.
