People in Austin, Texas, can finally enjoy a ride on Waymo's robotaxis.
The autonomous driving technology company recently announced it is bringing its autonomous robotaxis after testing their viability in the city.
People living in Austin can now sign up for Waymo's waitlist to be among the first people to enjoy rides in the company's robotaxis.
Autonomous Driving At Austin
Waymo mentioned in its announcement that the city of Austin will be the company's fourth major ride-hail city after testing its robotaxis in and around the city's downtown.
The company previously offered its autonomous robotaxis in only three cities: Metro Phoenix, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.
However, this announcement doesn't mean that Waymo's robotaxis will now be available for people living in Austin. The company announced it is bringing its robotaxis to the city and begin an initial phase of operations this fall, with fully autonomous deployment and its first rides with the public in the months following.
Once Waymo's robotaxis arrive, they will travel to many popular locations in the city night and day, such as the heart of downtown Austin, Barton Hills, Riverside, East Austin, Hyde Park, and more. Nevertheless, Waymo's expansion is an "exciting milestone" for the company as it means members of the public will again ride with Waymo in the city.
According to a report from The Verge, the company gave a 10-minute ride to a blind man from Austin named Steve Mahan in its prototype Firefly vehicle. The publication noted that this prototype didn't have a steering wheel and pedals at the time.
The company is also excited to expand its coverage in Austin, Texas because KXAN found it to be the second-fastest-growing major city economy in the country. Because of this title, the city of Austin represents a "significant commercial opportunity" for Waymo's growing operations.
Waymo also claimed that its expansion would help make the streets of Austin safer to be in; 125 people died in road traffic accidents in Austin in 2022 - 51 of them pedestrians and cyclists. The company stated its robotaxis could help prevent such crashes as they follow road rules and are attentive at all times.
Waymo has also taken important measures to communicate with and protect vulnerable road users, like reducing "dooring" incidents with cyclists through its Safe Exit features.
Waymo's Challenge
Waymo's entrance into Austin is a challenging one. The company's robotaxis have a history of blocking traffic, impeding public transit, and stumbling into emergencies. While there has been some protest into its expansion into San Francisco, the other two cities it is operating now have made no such opposition.
The company must be at its best at all times if it wants to avoid similar unfortunate events from happening in Austin.
Additionally, Waymo's Austin expansion puts it in the way of Cruise, which will also bring its ride-hailing service and its autonomous vehicles to the people of Austin sometime in 2023, per Tech Crunch. Cruise has already established its presence in San Francisco alongside Waymo, making Austin one of the cities the two companies share in common.
