Waymo launches robotaxi service in San Francisco – TechCrunch

Waymo, the self-driving vehicle company under Alphabet, has launched a robotic taxi service open to certain verified drivers in San Francisco.

On Tuesday, the company officially launched its Waymo One Trusted Tester program in town with a fleet of all-electric Jaguar I-PACEs equipped with the company’s fifth generation of its autonomous vehicle system. This AV system, known as the Waymo Driver, is informed of 20 million self-driven miles on public roads and over 10 billion miles in simulations, according to Waymo.

The Waymo One Trusted Tester program mirrors the company’s strategy in Phoenix, where it launched its first commercial ride-hailing service a few years ago. The Trusted Tester program is a renaming of Waymo’s previous early rider program that was launched in Metro Phoenix in April 2017. Since it was over four years ago, these drivers are no longer exactly “early”, so a name change was appropriate to a Waymo spokesman.

In Phoenix, Waymo finally invited some of the early riders to switch to the Waymo One service, which allowed users to publicly share their impressions about the service and invite friends or family members who were not part of the early rider program. Waymo then opened the service to everyone.

San Franciscans can download the Waymo One app and express their interest in participating in the program, which Waymo says begins with an initial select group of different backgrounds and transportation needs, including wheelchair access. The company didn’t say how many drivers would be in the starting group or how many Jaguars it will roam the city, but it said drivers need to be willing to provide plenty of detailed feedback on their driving experience and sign a nondisclosure agreement .

Waymo will encourage drivers to use its autonomous service to assist them with their everyday mobility needs. Rides are initially free and begin in an initial area in parts of San Francisco, including Sunset, Richmond, Pacific Heights, Noe Valley, Castro, Haight-Ashbury, and more, with the expectation of growing over time. The service is offered 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the spokesman told TechCrunch.

The company will have so-called “autonomous specialists” – another term for security personnel – in the front seat to monitor the journey and ensure a safe experience. These security drivers are contract workers and employed by Transdev. Waymo has long worked with Transdev to provide staff for some of its operations.

Waymo’s driver support team will also be available by tapping the button on the screen in the car or through the app if drivers have any questions during their journeys, the spokesman said.

Waymo’s first ride-hailing service was launched in Phoenix, but its roots are in California, particularly in the Silicon Valley enclave of Mountain View. It has been tested in the greater San Francisco Bay area for more than a decade.

The company started testing its Robotaxi service earlier this year by offering autonomous rides to its employees in the city.

News of Trusted Tester’s launch comes a week after Waymo announced it is expanding its Waymo Via autonomous trucking operations in Texas, Arizona and California and building a trucking hub outside of Dallas. The company also tested its fifth generation driver on Class 8 trucks in Texas that haul cargo for freight forwarders like JB Hunt to put the last $ 2.5 billion in good use.