Autonomous driverless taxis will be cruising some US freeways

Alphabet’s autonomous car subsidiary, Waymo, has announced that it will finally be able to run its driverless vehicles on certain stretches of freeway in Phoenix, Arizona. This crucial step will enable Waymo to shorten journey times for Waymo One riders and continue its expansion in the US.

Waymo is set to begin testing its autonomous passenger cars on Phoenix freeways. This is a necessary next step in the rollout of its self-driving cars, which have until now taken routes that bypass expressways, priviliging city surface streets instead. It’s something that users have frequently remarked upon as certain journeys take longer due to the vehicles’ inability to use freeways.

The company has accumulated years of experience and millions of kilometers covered by its driverless cars (and trucks). As a result, authorities have given the go-ahead for its vehicles to operate on certain freeways in the Phoenix area.

In 2023, Waymo conducted initial tests with on-board supervisors, as a safety precaution. From now on, its cars will be able to use freeways with only riders on board.

In the first phase of this new development, only Waymo employees will be able to take advantage of this, in order to provide a first round of feedback. Later this year, all customers should be able to benefit.

The Waymo One autonomous car-sharing service currently operates in Phoenix and San Francisco. It will soon be available in Los Angeles and Austin.

While Waymo appears to be advancing in its goals, there have been significant setbacks for other players in the self-driving sector. For example, its rival Cruise, a subsidiary of General Motors, recently had to recall almost 1,000 robo-taxis following a series of incidents, which also led to the suspension of its activity, until further notice, by the Californian authorities.

Autonomous ride-hailing vehicles may sometimes get bad press, but Waymo is proving that this technology can be both efficient and reliable. Elsewhere in the country, other companies such as Aurora and Argo AI are also running their own autonomous ride-hailing services, but do not yet run on higher-speed roads. – AFP Relaxnews