Waymo launches widescale test of self-driving rides in Phoenix

Alphabet's autonomous car division, Waymo, is expanding a ridehailing trial in Phoenix, Ariz., to members of the general public, marking perhaps the biggest real-world use of self-driving technology to date.

Area residents can now apply online, Waymo said this week. The company said it expects to enlist "hundreds" of people, and provide transportation to them at any time of day, so long as they stay within the test area — described as "about twice the size of San Francisco."

Waymo has been quietly engaged in a more limited test in the Phoenix area for about two months. The new effort effectively leapfrogs Uber, which has been doing its own small-scale testing in the ridehailing arena.

In fact Waymo promised to bring trials to additional regions, and along those lines will add another 500 modified Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid minivans to its fleet, dwarfing the 100 it currently has on roads.

The company is gradually working its way towards a commercial ridehailing service. Although it's currently dependent on human backups, it could eventually ditch human drivers to offer a fleet circling 24/7, with vehicles only periodically stopping to refuel/recharge, or undergo maintenance.

Apple is developing its own self-driving car platform, but its initial road testing will be limited to just three Lexus SUVs with only Apple staff as passengers. There's no indication that Apple intends to compete directly with Waymo in ridehailing, though Chinese service Didi Chuxing — in which Apple invested $1 billion last year — recently opened an autonomous car lab near Apple's headquarters.

15 Comments

cali 3494 comments · 10 Years

About 7 years ago

Nice Apple Watch ad ;)

my God this is ugly. Can't wait until Apple takes it out of the market.

ireland 17435 comments · 18 Years

Another cheesy video from creepy Google.

cali said:

Nice Apple Watch ad ;)

my God this is ugly. Can't wait until Apple takes it out of the market.

Yes, but are Google even going to sell cars or just be most people's transport. Whereas Apple will want the former probably. But then when people are driven everywhere will they just stop buying cars altogether? For a lot of people, they may.

gatorguy 24609 comments · 13 Years

ireland said:

cali said:

Nice Apple Watch ad ;)

my God this is ugly. Can't wait until Apple takes it out of the market.

Yes, but are Google even going to sell cars or just be most people's transport. Whereas Apple will want the former probably. But then when people are driven everywhere will they just stop buying cars altogether? For a lot of people, they may.

Google announced almost two years ago that they had no intention of building consumer cars, and further that ride-sharing was one major focus for them. No interest in building the car itself but instead the platform that makes it possible.

FWIW if Apple has intentions of building cars themselves look for the same resistance and push-back the automakers showed Google initially. If only for that reason alone I don't see Apple building cars themselves.

SpamSandwich 32917 comments · 19 Years

Very excited about these programs expanding rapidly. The faster the distracted public adopts this, the longer pedestrians and other riders/drivers will live to see another day.