Robotaxis Waymo Starts Operating On Phoenix City's Local Roads

The Mayor of Phoenix, Kate Gallego., shortly after testing robotaxi Waymo. (photo: twitter @MayorGallego)

JAKARTA Robotaxis Waymo, which is capable of running completely driverless, has now started taking passengers in downtown Phoenix, Arizona, USA. This is only five months after Alphabet Inc's company expanded its service area covering more dense and more complex urban areas.

Waymo has been testing its vehicles in several suburban cities outside Phoenix since early 2017, including Chandler, Mesa, Tempe, and Gilbert. Mereka also operates a commercial ride-hailing service called Waymo One using a mix of vehicles with and without safety drivers. The company expanded its service area to enter the Phoenix city center earlier this year.

Last year, Alphabet Inc., launched its Trusted Testing program, which is basically a rebranding of its initial driver program in the suburbs of Phoenix. Customers interested in using Robotaxis Waymo join the waiting list and, once approved, they must sign a confidentiality agreement to gain access to the company's initial technology.

Reported by The Verge, the public can now ride the fully driverless robotaxis Waymo in downtown Phoenix. One of the first motorists to feel the sensation and experience with this "specially motorist" vehicle is Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego. He said in a video produced by Waymo that he hoped the service would make Phoenix "a more inclusive city."

I had the opportunity to take my first rider only trip with the #WaymoDriver, @Waymo’s fully autonomous driving technology. Phoenicians, I can’t wait for you to experience it for yourselves! Check out the Waymo One app to learn more. #thefutureisphoenix https://t.co/dWVOa2jEAK pic.twitter.com/ODhWBbJkSw

— Mayor Kate Gallego (@MayorGallego) August 29, 2022

Ultimately, the service will thrive to include permanent customers who are free to speak in public and even post on social media about their experiences using Waymo autonomous vehicles. It's like they do in suburban cities outside Phoenix.

But it could also lead to some embarrassing headlines for these robotaxis, as when a driverless Waymo van was stuck at an intersection in Chandler, forcing the company to send a side-of-road aid team to pull it.

Waymo is also close to rolling out driverless ridehail services in San Francisco and Silicon Valley, although the company has yet to receive final approval to charge drivers a fee for the trip. The following is a list of the company's current implementation, according to Waymo:

Downtown Phoenix: Now offers paid driver special trips to employees of Waymo and Trusted Uji Penguji.

Phoenix Sky Harbor: Currently offers a trip from downtown Phoenix to the airport for Waymo employees, with autonomous specialists in driver seats.

San Francisco: Currently testing a special driver's trip to Waymo employees and a paid trip to the Trusted Tester with autonomous specialists in the driver's seat.

Phoenix East Valley: Currently offering special driver travel to community members.

Waymo stressed that it is the only company that offers public travel in driverless mode in several different cities with several different cities as its operational phrase.

Cruise, a rival AV company backed by General Motors, has also made paid driverless trips in the San Francisco City Center, although only at night.

Waymo's driverless service expansion to Phoenix indicates their growing confidence that its vehicles can operate safely and efficiently in more dense urban environments.

Cruise also points out that it specifically focuses on solid cities like San Francisco to compare Waymo's approach to starting in dry, flat, bright, and less dense environments like Chandler. In the future, these criticisms tend to be weighing less.