Waymo, Alphabet's autonomous vehicle subsidiary, has expanded its fully driverless robotaxi service to 10 US cities including Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Austin, Miami, Atlanta, Seattle, Denver, Chicago, and New York. The expansion makes Waymo the first company to operate a truly driverless commercial transportation service at national scale in the United States.
The safety data is compelling. Waymo vehicles have now completed over 20 million driverless miles with a serious injury rate 73% lower than the average for human-driven vehicles on the same road types. In Phoenix, where Waymo has operated longest, the company has not had a single at-fault fatal accident.
Users hail Waymos through the Waymo One app. Rides are priced comparably to Uber and Lyft. The vehicles operate 24 hours a day, never get tired, never text while driving, and never have a bad day.
The expansion is a significant blow to human taxi and rideshare drivers. Uber and Lyft have both invested in autonomous vehicle technology in response, partnering with their own AV developers rather than being disrupted from outside.
