Hundreds of people in the Phoenix, Arizona area now have consumer access to Waymoâs driverless taxi service. These âearly ridersâ can now order an autonomous vehicle pickup 24/7. Welcome to the future.
Waymo â a Google sister company under the Alphabet umbrella â today announced the service, called âWaymo Oneâ was officially underway.
Currently, the program is only available in early-access to customers who have already participated in Waymoâs testing process in the Phoenix area. According to a Medium post by the Waymo team:
Over time, we hope to make Waymo One available to even more members of the public as we add vehicles and drive in more places. Self-driving technology is new to many, so weâre proceeding carefully with the comfort and convenience of our riders in mind.
Waymo stresses that human drivers will accompany the vehicles. But it appears the point of the pilot-program is to eventually take off the training wheels and step into the future without a chaperone.
The vehicles are equipped with helpful consoles capable of answering user queries and providing direct access to customer support chat, according to Waymo. So it shouldnât be a big deal once a company employee is no longer onboard to answer nervous humansâ questions.
Those currently enrolled in the program have access to the Waymo One app, which seems to follow the general design of Uber or Lyftâs apps. Customers request a route, get a quote, and confirm the ride. Theyâll receive a notification when the vehicle arrives and then its off careening down the streets of Arizona with a robot in charge.
And, if you live in the area, you can apply to be an early rider here, though weâre not sure if Waymo is currently adding members to the program or not. The company didnât immediately respond to our inquiry.
Driverless taxis are a game-changer, and theyâre no longer science fiction. If things go well in Phoenix and the surrounding areas weâll surely see more companies chomping at the bit to get in on the action in 2019.
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