Waymo is officially launching its autonomous ride-hailing service in Austin, Texas following a successful trial period.
This will make Austin the fourth major city where it is operating its vehicles, joining Phoenix, San Francisco and Los Angeles.
Over the past few months, Waymo has completed a series of tests around Austin using electric Jaguar I-PACE vehicles.
These tests have reacquainted the Waymo Driver with the city in preparation for an initial phase of operation this autumn.
During this service, the autonomous Waymo Driver will travel to popular locations such as downtown, Barton Hills, Riverside, East Austin and Hyde Park.
Saswat Panigrahi, Chief Product Officer at Waymo said:Austin is one of the most vibrant and dynamic cities in the country, and we’ve found that the Waymo Driver is adapting to its complex cityscape incredibly quickly. Autonomous vehicles make transportation safer, greener and more accessible, and we can’t wait for Austinites to experience these benefits for themselves.
This announcement marks the latest milestone in Waymo’s mission to expand and build momentum for its commercial ride-hail business.
Meanwhile, the company has announced that it will sideline its work on autonomous trucking operations to increase its focus on the ride-hailing industry.
As the second-fastest-growing major city economy in the US, Austin represents a significant commercial opportunity for Waymo.
The company claims that its autonomous vehicles help improve road safety by removing elements of human error and irresponsible driving.
