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Waymo will start testing its robotaxis on highways in Phoenix with out a human security driver. This might be accessible solely to firm staff, and their company, to start out. Waymo’s autos have been allowed on highways however required a human security driver within the entrance seat to deal with any points.
This system will begin outdoors of rush-hour durations and will ultimately ramp as much as 24-hour service. The shortcoming to make use of highways has been a downside of taking a robotaxi in comparison with extra conventional approaches. Including freeway service might make journeys extra environment friendly and encourage extra individuals to make use of the service. Waymo mentioned including highways might cut back drive instances 50% on sure routes.
“The flexibility to make the most of freeways might be particularly necessary as we scale our operations to different cities,” the corporate wrote in a weblog saying the freeway testing. “Because of this, we’re laser-focused on our freeway ride-hailing testing.”
Waymo operates its ride-hailing service throughout 225 sq. miles in metro Phoenix, however it solely makes use of floor streets. The corporate mentioned it has been regularly ramping up testing on highways over the past yr. It additionally has a robotaxi service up in operating in San Francisco. It additionally lately launched a robotaxi tour in Los Angeles in hopes of quickly launching a service there, too.
Instance Waymo One route utilizing highways (left) versus utilizing solely floor streets. | Credit score: Waymo
Waymo capitalizing on autonomous trucking expertise
Waymo has loads of freeway driving expertise due to its former autonomous trucking service, Waymo By way of. It started quietly testing autonomous vans in 2017 earlier than launching a pilot in Atlanta in 2018 after which formally launching its trucking division in 2020. It had a number of partnerships, together with J.B. Hunt, Ryder, Uber Freight and UPS.
Nevertheless, Waymo pumped the brakes on autonomous trucking about six months in the past. It determined to “double down” on robotaxis. Whereas some engineers from the trucking division have been laid off, many took different positions on the firm. Whereas class-8 vans are definitely a lot totally different than robotaxis, Waymo is hoping to capitalize on a few of the classes discovered from its trucking days.
In the meanwhile, Waymo doesn’t have a lot competitors within the U.S. Following many incidents, Cruise paused operations nationwide and laid off 900 staff, or 24% of its workforce. Might Mobility lately launched an autonomous shuttle service for residents of a retirement group in Phoenix. Two autonomous minivans might be accessible to a choose group of early riders who reside in Solar Metropolis. The service will cowl about 4.5 miles of Solar Metropolis, bringing the early riders to quite a lot of spots similar to resident buildings, medical facilities, and different key areas.
In December 2023, Waymo began providing curbside drop-off and pickup on the Phoenix airport. And in October 2023, its robotaxi service grew to become accessible on Uber in Phoenix. Freeway driving can be a serious win for Waymo in Phoenix and, hopefully, different cities within the not-to-distant future.
A Waymo robotaxi driving on a freeway in Phoenix.
