Thanks to Waymo, self-driving cars are gaining in popularity and demand. Already operating driverless taxi rides in Phoenix, their autonomous cars are ready to take on the busy airport streets.
Waymo Drop-offs & Pick-ups
Ready to provide services to include Phoenix’s Sky Harbor International airport, this presents a profitable opportunity for Waymo. Research shows that trips to and from the airport account for an estimated 20% of manual taxis. Companies like Waymo, are under pressure to deliver exponential profits as the industry is shrinking and tech stocks are dropping.
Waymo Current Services
Waymo’s vehicles have been in service in the suburbs of Phoenix since 2017. They also developed a commercial service called Waymo One, Waymo One is made up of vehicles with and without safety drivers. They recently started providing services in the Phoenix metro area earlier this year.
Test Programs
In 2021, Waymo launched their Trusted Tester program, a reintroduction to their Early Rider program that operated in suburban Phoenix. Passengers interested in using Waymo’s robotaxis register for a wait list, and once they’re approved they must sign nondisclosure agreements to learn more about the technology and service areas.
How Waymo Opens To The Public
After the market’s been tested by customers under the NDA’s, services open up to the public allowing regular paying customers. Eventually some of those trips will be in fully autonomous vehicles.
Now trips to the airport are already full of obstacles with the current taxi drivers, therefore Waymo has a lot of work to do before introducing autonomous vehicles. Now that airport traffic is increasing post pandemic, Waymo must make a lot of cash for their parent company Alphabet or make the news for vehicles getting confused and causing horrible traffic.