Waymo is poised to test its driverless rides on the vast network of Phoenix freeways. The Alphabet-owned company said Monday that the upcoming tests will initially include only employee riders before extending the futuristic experience to Waymo One customers. The timing of these phases is hazy, but they are slated to begin within weeks, as reported by ABC15.
A partnership between Uber and Waymo has been creating a complex landscape in Arizona's mobility sector. Since last May, the collaboration has allowed Uber patrons the choice of opting for a driverless Waymo vehicle for their transit needs, with no human driver in sight. This revolutionary service became available to users in October, following an announcement "Our partnership with Uber gives their riders the chance to experience the Waymo Driver," Waymo Co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana expressed, according to a statement obtained by the Phoenix Business Journal.
After a pedestrian mishap involving a driverless vehicle of Cruise, a competitor in the autonomous driving space, skepticism among certain Phoenicians remains tangible. In light of these events, Cruise has ceased its operations and laid off employees at its Scottsdale and Phoenix facilities. Furthermore, some local drivers convey wariness regarding their encounters with these automated vehicles. Phoenician Richard Elza told the Phoenix Business Journal, narrating a near mishap with a Waymo car that "never skipped a beat," leaving him doubtful of the technology's reliability.
On the flip side, some residents, like Sophia Lovasz, laud the autonomous leap, with over a hundred driverless rides under her belt. She conveyed her trust in the service, stating in an interview, “I have been riding with Waymo since 2018 and I feel absolutely safe when I’m in Waymo vehicles. I’ve had 137 rides, which is 1,034 miles,” Lovasz's testimonial in January 2023, reached a milestone of 1 million miles driven on public roads without a human at the wheel—a feat not without its minor incidents but without any severe injuries, as Waymo published in their research summary. With Uber phasing out its self-driving research unit following a fatal crash in Tempe and Waymo surging ahead.
Those long-time Uber users looking to be swept into the autonomous era can tweak their preferences in the Uber app, possibly garnering greater odds of being matched with a self-driven Waymo.
