Waymo brings its robotaxis to Tesla’s home town of Austin, Texas, via the Uber app. And one other big city will see Waymo cars later this year.
Waymo robotaxis are now offered through Uber in Austin, Texas, with Waymo relying on the ride-hailing app to service its fleet of Jaguar I-Pace EVs.The current service area in Austin covers some 37 square miles, but is expected to expand in the future.
Waymo plans to launch passenger service in Atlanta later this year, and has already begun preliminary operations in the city.As promised, Waymo's robotaxis have made their way to Austin, Texas, as part of the company's eastward expansion, bringing autonomous tech to Uber riders.Starting this week, Uber app users can try Waymo's now-familiar Jaguar I-Pace robotaxis.And opting for a Waymo robotaxi is pretty easy.'Request your ride, opt in for a Waymo: Starting today, riders who request an UberX, Uber Green, Comfort, or Comfort Electric could be matched with a Waymo fully autonomous all-electric Jaguar I-PACE vehicle—at no additional cost,' Uber says.To improve their chances of matching with one of the robotaxis, Uber says that its app users can update their Ride Preferences via the Settings section of their app to choose Waymo cars. At the moment, Waymo's robotaxis operate in a 37-square-mile area in Austin, stretching from Hyde Park, Downtown, and Montopolis, covering much of the city. But this service area is promised to grow.Uber's partnership with Waymo is not new, having been revealed some time ago, but it reflects a new way for Waymo to expand, relying on local partners to manage its fleet of Jaguar EVs. This also reflects the main difference cost-wise between ride-hailing app drivers, who own and service their own cars, and company-owned robotaxi fleets that need a staff to monitor, recharge, and clean the cars.Waymo has also teamed up Uber Eats in Phoenix, allowing Uber Eats users to opt for driverless delivery from a preset number of restaurants. Once an order arrives in one of Waymo's cars, app users can open the car's trunk and retrieve the food.Where is Waymo headed next on its eastward push?The company is planning to team up with Uber again in Atlanta this year for paying customers, and has opened the service to its employees in the city as a first step. 'Waymo's mission is to be the world's most trusted driver, and we're excited to launch this expanded network and operations partnership with Uber in Austin and Atlanta to bring the benefits of fully autonomous driving to more riders,' said Waymo co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana in 2024.Waymo has taken a measured approach to geographic expansion since it kicked off operations in San Francisco in 2023, establishing a pace where it adds just a couple of new cities each year. So it's not rushing to challenge the familiar cast of ride-hailing apps and old fashioned taxis in every city in the Southwest, which has seen an early wave of SAE Level 4 testing and fleet operations.When it comes to one other big company with robotaxi plans that's based in Austin, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has recently indicated that the EV maker will launch a robotaxi service of its own in Austin starting this June. The company plans to use a version of its Unsupervised Full Self-Driving tech unveiled in concept form a few months ago, installed in a custom two-door electric hatchback that does not feature a steering wheel or pedals.The Tesla CEO indicated that the EV maker would be able to launch Unsupervised FSD in California in 2025 as well.It remains to be seen whether anything will actually materialize this June or later this year, as the EV maker has a track record of overpromising when it comes to autonomous tech.Will robotaxis companies be able to force some percentage of ride-hailing app drivers out of the business by 2030, or will this process take much longer, if it continues at all? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
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