Waymo has initiated testing of their self-driving vehicles in Washington D.C., aiming to introduce automated convenience in the realm of public transportation, yet they have not opened the service to the public at this juncture. The Alphabet-owned company, having already implemented its technology in cities across the West Coast such as Phoenix, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, is expanding its footprint to the nation's capital with promises of similar affordability to its human-operated counterparts, notably stating that a short ride around Union Station "would have been $6.91 for our loop around the District," according to Waymo spokesman Ethan Teicher in an interview with DC News Now.
As with any pioneering technology, concerns about safety and adherence to traffic laws have surfaced, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has initiated an inquiry into "22 reports of Waymo vehicles either crashing or doing something that may have violated traffic laws," a situation devoid of injuries but not without scrutiny, highlighted by both DC News Now and NBC Washington emphasizing the investigative status of these incidents, though details on when the Waymo cars will officially begin service in Washington D.C. remain undisclosed at this stage.
Despite these ongoing investigations and potential bumps along the road, the anticipation for self-driving taxis in the District signals an era where a tap on one’s phone summons a car without a driver behind the wheel, a novum peeking through the curtains of science fiction and touching the reality of the present; and while the immediacy of this reality remains uncertain, the potential it harbors for revolutionizing the daily commute whispers loudly to the denizens of D.C.
With Austin, Texas slated as another future waypoint for Waymo's self-driving fleet, the company stands at the forecast of an evolving landscape where roads teem with robotics guided by algorithms; "There are always going to be bumps in the road, but to date, our safety record is very strong," Teicher reassures, according to a statement obtained by DC News Now, and this strength will be the litmus for both the public's trust and the journey ahead for Waymo in the District.
