As the emerging commercial robotaxi space grows with Tesla and others set to start deploying self-driving ride-hailing services, Waymo, the robotaxi firm owned by Google parent company Alphabet, has officially launched driverless taxis in Texas, with the help of Uber.
As of Tuesday, those in Austin can officially take a driverless Waymo robotaxi using the Uber app, as detailed in a press release from the ride-hailing company. The launch comes as Tesla is expected to debut Unsupervised Full Self-Driving (FSD) services in Austin later this year, and after it was found to have applied for a permit to operate ride-hailing vehicles in California.
To access the Waymo robotaxis, users must opt in for the service on the Uber app at no additional cost. When awaiting rides, riders will have the option to accept the driverless Waymo robotaxi or to switch to a non-self-driving vehicle instead.
Additionally, riders will be able to use the Uber app to unlock the vehicle, open the trunk, and activate the trip, and the ride-hailing company also says it’s providing 24/7 customer support in case of any issues. The area of operation will allow riders to travel across 37 square miles of Austin, from Hyde Park to Downtown to Montopolis, and Uber also says the company plans to expand the service area in the future.
The launch also comes ahead of the South by Southwest (SXSW) music festival in Austin this weekend, which is expected to bring in bands and music enthusiasts from all over the world.
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Waymo currently operates paid, self-driving ride-hails via an in-house platform through the Waymo One app in Los Angeles and around San Francisco, California, as well as in Phoenix, Arizona. As part of the announcement, Uber also says that the two companies will be partnering to launch robotaxi services in Atlanta, Georgia next.
During Tesla’s Q4 earnings call in January, CEO Elon Musk said that Tesla plans to launch its Unsupervised FSD system as a paid service in Austin in June. Tesla also operates a Gigafactory in Austin, where it builds the Model Y and the Cybertruck, and Musk has said launching in the city would let the company “dip its toe in the water” of commercial robotaxis with safety in mind.
In October, Musk also said that Tesla had been testing internal ride-hails for employees in the Bay Area, California, adding that users could already request a ride and be dropped off anywhere in the Bay. Last week, it was also widely reported that Tesla had in November applied for a “transportation charter-party carrier permit” from the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), which is the agency that helps regulate the state’s autonomous vehicles.
Tesla also launched its two-seat, steering wheel-less Cybercab in October during a Southern California event dubbed “We, Robot,” and you can see our coverage from the event below.
: Our FULL first ride in the @Tesla Cybercab pic.twitter.com/6gR7OgKRCz — TESLARATI (@Teslarati) October 11, 2024
Tesla mobile app tracker reports first lines referencing robotaxi service
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