Waymo will partner with Uber to provide Robotaxi services to Atlanta and Austin.
Uber Technologies Inc.
alphabet The Waymo unit began test drives for the Robotaxis in Denver and Seattle this week, with humans behind the wheels, the company said.
“In the future, we will start operating manually before verifying technology and operations for fully autonomous services,” a company spokesperson said in an email. Waymo announced the test in a blog post.
The self-driving car venture is aiming to expand driverless riding services across the United States after already launching commercial operations in Austin, Texas, Atlanta, San Francisco, Phoenix and Los Angeles.
In some markets, including Austin and Atlanta, Waymo’s unmanned rides are Uber App. In others, riders will need to book Robotaxi using the company’s standalone Waymo One app.
A safety driver, an employee of Waymo, will steering and brake behind test vehicles in Denver and Seattle. The company has also conducted similar tests in New York with Robotaxis, and recently obtained a permit in the largest US market.
The company’s test fleet in Denver and Seattle includes a mix of fully electric Jaguar IPACE and Geely Zeekr AVS.
Waymo told CNBC there will be up to 12 cars each in Denver and Seattle to begin testing.
That’s the major competition at Waymo’s global stage Baidu– Apollo Go, owned by China, operating unmanned riding services throughout Asia. meanwhile, Tesla He has obtained permission to operate a riding business in Texas, and another person is testing manned Robotaxis services in Austin and San Francisco.
