Uber is preparing to break new ground in Atlanta and Austin by offering driverless rides through a partnership with Waymo. The service, slated to start early next year, is expected to deploy "a fleet of Waymo’s fully autonomous, all-electric Jaguar I-PACE vehicles." This expansion follows a notable collaboration that kicked off in Phoenix, where tens of thousands of riders have already experienced the autonomous Waymo vehicles. According to Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, the plan will accommodate users who select options like UberX, Uber Green, Uber Comfort or Uber Comfort Electric, potentially matching them with a self-driving Waymo for certain trips, as reported by FOX 5 Atlanta.
With Waymo's autonomous Jaguars anticipated to join the roads in the coming year, growing the fleet to hundreds over time. The cost of these rides, as per Waymo, will be in line with Uber's standard pricing structure. Some Atlantans might have noticed Waymo's Jaguars, with their roof-mounted sensors, running test drives since April. The expansion in Atlanta extends the company's footprint beyond its existing operations in cities such as San Francisco and Phoenix. As Ethan Teicher, a Waymo spokesperson, emphasized to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, "When we launch to the public on Uber in Atlanta, these rides will be fully autonomous — no human behind the wheel."
Georgia's regulations have been supportive of autonomous vehicle development. In 2017, a law was approved that permitted self-driving cars to share public roads. Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens had proposed the use of self-driving pods for the Beltline as an innovative alternative to light rail, and a pilot project involving driverless pods is expected to unfold at the Georgia International Convention Center campus. These advancements toward integrating autonomous vehicles into daily transit contrast sharply with the safety concerns that inevitably arise. A series of incidents, including a crash in Phoenix and a fatal accident involving a small dog in San Francisco, have put Waymo in the spotlight. Despite these challenges, Waymo maintains that their objective is to improve road safety by conducting operations safely and prudently.
Safety concerns cannot be understated as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) cited reports of 22 incidents involving Waymo’s vehicles earlier this year. According to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, "Waymo has a webpage showing data on the safety record of its fleet." AAA found in a survey that a significant majority of U.S. drivers harbor fear or uncertainty towards fully autonomous vehicles. Waymo's operations, however, span multiple cities, where it claims to ferry over 100,000 passengers weekly. Tourists in San Francisco even consider riding in a Waymo robotaxi a bucket-list experience. Back in Phoenix, Uber customers can select autonomous vehicle preferences in the app, with the option of being matched with a Waymo vehicle .
