Waymo has launched a test mode of self-driving taxi services
The American company Waymo began testing a self-driving taxi in San Francisco. Now city residents will be able to assess the benefits of autonomous transport, and the developer will be able to test its products on a number of important parameters.
The testing is carried out within the framework of the Waymo One Trusted Tester program. Taxis will only be available to a certain group of passengers, but getting into this category is quite easy. Those who wish can send an application to the developer through a special application so that he will include the person in the list of testers. Waymo has not announced how many people are included in the group of passengers of the new autonomous vehicles, it is only known that access to the use of taxis will be provided gradually.
The autonomous vehicle testing procedure is being done in several stages. At the initial stage, the cars will be driven on city streets with a driver who observes the taxi’s operation, assesses its safety, and, if necessary, takes over the controls. Initially, driverless rides are only allowed in a few San Francisco neighborhoods, and the car can be used 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
A condition of using the taxi is a non-disclosure agreement, which the passenger must sign. The person will not be allowed to tell other people who are not participating in the test about the trip. The ride in the driverless car will be free, and after it, the user will send a detailed report to the developer about his impressions.
Waymo is part of the Internet giant Alphabet, and is a leader in the segment of autonomous transport. For the company, the launch of taxis in San Francisco is not the first such experience. In 2017, the developer launched Early Rider in Arizona. The project had similar conditions, but after a while the testers were allowed to tell other people about driverless rides. ISince 2020, anyone in this state can use Waymo’s cab services. Experts hope that the company will soon launch a similar practice in San Francisco, especially given the success of their autonomous vehicles in Arizona.
The main competitor in the U.S. market for Waymo is the company Cruise, which is part of the automobile concern General Motors. The latter was also planning to launch a self-driving taxi in San Francisco this year, but Waymo was ahead of it. At the same time, Cruise has long ago received permission from the regulatory body of the state of California.
In addition to the U.S., self-driving taxis are gaining popularity in other countries as well. In 2021, Apollo, an autonomous vehicle owned by Baidu Corporation, is providing services in Beijing. In Russia, Yandex promises to launch autonomous vehicles on the roads of Moscow and the Krasnodar region by the end of the year.
