Self-driving cars are slowly becoming Less science fiction and more real world As a company like a company Waymo – The driverless arm of Google’s parent company Alphabet – expands to more cities. On Tuesday, the company shared that it is expanding to Washington, D.C. and will be offered through its ride Waymo An App Starting from 2026.
Waymo currently runs fully automated rides in the public in San Francisco, Phoenix, Los Angeles and Austin, Texas. In January, the company Return to the national capital Test its autonomous driving technology and announce it will also begin testing with manually driven vehicles 10 new cities This year, starting with Las Vegas and San Diego. Waymo also plans to expand to Atlanta this year through a partnership with Uber.
Waymo said in Washington, D.C. it will bring more vehicles to the city in the coming weeks and work to expand its services throughout the year. It is worth noting that autonomous driving companies are release It will “continue to work closely with policymakers to make it formally operate without the human being behind humanity’s back.”
Waymo’s self-driving rides take place in full electric Jaguar i-pacebut in October, Waymo announced Cooperate with modern Bringing next-generation technology into Ioniq 5 SUV. Over the next few years, riders will be able to use the Waymo One app to gather those fully electric self-driving cars.
Waymo says it offers over 200,000 paid trips per week. I praised myself for a few rides in San Francisco and it seemed offensive at first (especially seeing the steering wheel turn itself), I quickly adjusted and it quickly felt like a regular ride.
This is not to say that Waymo has no push when it launches more cities. The company’s vehicles have been involved in some of the high-profile collisions, including A man with a bicycle In San Francisco, another one comes with a towed pickup truck in Phoenix. (it Recall and update its software To solve this problem. It also released Data Center Last year, efforts to use its technology to improve road safety were detailed.
As Waymo continues to expand and develop its autonomous driving technology, if you happen to be in one of the few cities where the company currently operates its fleet, it is the way and where to summon Robotaxi.
Watch the following: Test Waymo’s safe exit feature in self-driving taxi
Take a car in Phoenix
Phoenix is The first city We must open up the Waymo, which is completely autonomous to the public in 2020. To hype, please download Waymo a app ios or Android. The service runs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
You can, too Using Uber app One of the vehicles summoning Waymo in Phoenix. When you ask for Uberx, Uber Green, Uber Comfort Electric Ride, you will have the option to confirm the Waymo ride if you match.
also Take a carYou may also have yours Uber Eats offers meals with self-driving cars. When placing an order in Phoenix, you may receive “The self-driving car may deliver your order”. When the Waymo car arrives, carry your phone with you to open the suitcase and grab your delivery. If you want humans to provide food, you can opt out during checkout.
Car ride in San Francisco
San Francisco follows the example after Phoenix, launches Completely independent amusement facilities by the end of 2022. it Cancel the waiting list In June, anyone can now download a Waymo app at any time. The service is also run 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. There is currently no Uber partnership in San Francisco.
In August, Waymo Expanded ride service Entering the San Francisco Peninsula, adding 10 square miles and venture into Daly City, Broadmoor and Colma. In March, it expanded again so that select Waymo living in Mountain View, Los Altos, Los Alto, Palo Alto and Sunnyvale part of riders can also choose to hail there. The company said it plans to expand to more riders over time.
Car rides in Los Angeles
In November, Waymo canceled its waitlist Los Angeles And start All public riders are welcome A single application via Waymo. Now any interested passenger can jump into the 24/7 robot and travel nearly 90 square miles across Los Angeles County, including Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Beverly Hills, Ingwood and Downtown Los Angeles – Plans are expanding to more areas soon.
Car ride in Austin
In Austin, the only way to ride hail is via Uber – There is no Waymo app here. By requesting Uberx, Uber Green, Uber Comfort Electric, you might match your Waymo vehicle – and you won’t be charged. If you don’t want to ride a driverless ride, you can choose to switch to the standard one. On the other hand, if you want to increase your chances of matching your self-driving car, you can go account > settings > Self-driving cars, Then press the next to switch Get more Waymo rides.
Unlock the door, pop out the suitcase, and start riding from the Uber app. You will still be asked to rate the ride at the end – but will not be asked to tip.
If you have any issues, riders can get 24/7 artificial support through the UBER app and the Waymo vehicle inside (there are screens in front and rear that allow you to quickly summon customer support).
As part of the Uber partnership, Uber will manage tasks such as vehicle cleaning and repair, and “Waymo will continue to be responsible for Waymo driver testing and operations, including roadside assistance and certain Rider Support Support features.” The collaboration should allow more people to access autonomous rides, and they don’t have to download separate apps to ride Robotaxi now.
Waymo currently operates within 37 square miles of the city and plans to expand in the future.
Coming soon: Atlanta
In Atlanta, public riders can capture driverless rides through the UBER app starting in early 2025. Waymo employees are currently the only one in Atlanta who can praise a fully self-driving car.
Atlanta’s public can join List of interests And notify when riding.
Road ahead: Miami and future vehicles
Miami is also the next on the Waymo roster, but you will have to wait until 2026 to ride through the Waymo One app. It has Carry out weather tests In the leadership launched here, please note Blog Posts“Our road trips to Sunshine State with challenging rainy conditions were invaluable to improve our autonomous driving capabilities.”
Waymo will work with Moove, a fintech company that first provides vehicle financing in Phoenix, where Moove will manage fleet operations, facilities and paid infrastructure for Robotaxi. In Phoenix and Miami,” the company Blog Posts.
In August, Waymo unveiled Sixth generation Its autonomous driving technology is designed to expand the capabilities of its unmanned fleet. Smarter sensors are designed to help cars navigate better in extreme weather, Waymo said. Sixth generation drivers will be on full electric Zeekr Vehiclewhich features flat flooring, more head and legroom, adjustable seats, and a movable steering wheel and pedal. The updated technology is still under test, and the company says it will be used by riders soon.
In October, Waymo also announced Partnership with Modern Integrate its sixth-generation driver into the all-electric Ioniq 5 SUV, according to a blog post, “it will be added to the Waymo One Fleet over time.” The companies added that they “plan to produce a fleet of Ioniq 5s with Waymo technology to support the growing scale of Waymo One over the years.” Testing of these vehicles will begin in late 2025 and will be available “in the following years.”
Currently, every day riders cannot ride Waymo vehicles on highways and highways, but that may change soon. The company is testing fully autonomous driving Phoenix City Expressway,like Exclusive video Shared with CNET in May. Now, it also makes fully automatic highway rides available to Waymo employees In Los Angeles.
Waymo is also working to expand its autonomous driving technology into trucking, but said it was Reduce these efforts For the time being, focus on Waymo One riding. “Our ongoing investment drives Waymo driver capabilities, especially on highways, will be translated directly into trucks and benefit from their development efforts,” it noted.
