Waymo announced that it will start shuttling employees within the 43 square miles of the Texas capital, Barton Hills, Riverside, East Austin, Hyde Park neighborhoods, and downtown Austin.
The company will use the service as an internal test before opening the program for public consumption.
Waymo Expands Operations to Several Areas
Waymo recently won a license to start charging for rides across Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area, proving the company's eligibility to provide autonomous services. The company also runs an operation within Phoenix.
The Austin operation will be the company's fourth successful robotaxi operation in the U.S., once it becomes publicly available. As of writing, Waymo has not issued an official timeline on when it will be available to the Austin citizens.
Waymo continues to expand its driverless ride-hailing program called Waymo One. The company has been operating a commercial service 24 hours a day and seven days a week throughout San Francisco. Waymo also used to give people free rides in some parts of Los Angeles before getting approved to charge rides.
Robotaxi Companies Face Challenges
Despite Waymo's success, the company also had some challenges which involved collisions with pedestrians. There was also an incident wherein two robotaxis of the company crashed into a towed truck last year.
Meanwhile, Waymo's competitors still got heavy issues like the GM-owned Cruise company which is still under investigation over the viral October crash with a pedestrian. This led to the suspension of their license to operate.
Regardless, it seems that robotaxi companies are working to improve their system and are still looking forward to successfully transition the transportation system using automated vehicles.
