Waymo already operates with self-driving cars giving rides in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Phoenix, and the company announced Friday that it is expanding the service to Atlanta and Austin, Texas, in early 2025 by offering rides through the Uber app.
“Riders who request an UberX, Uber Green, Uber Comfort or Uber Comfort Electric may be matched with a Waymo for qualifying trips,” Uber said in its announcement.
According to Waymo spokesman Ethan Teicher, “When we launch to the public on Uber in Atlanta, these rides will be fully autonomous — no human behind the wheel.”
The rides will be in Waymo’s autonomous electric Jaguar I-PACE SUVs that Uber will dispatch. The companies said the fleet of autonomous vehicles “will grow to hundreds of vehicles over time,” with expansion throughout next year. The cost of rides will be similar to Uber pricing, according to Waymo.
Motorists around Atlanta may have already seen Waymo vehicles around town, with a sensor mounted on the roof of the vehicle.
Waymo started testing its self-driving cars in Atlanta in April with vehicles closed to the public, saying it was taking its Waymo Driver autonomous driving system “on road trips to regions where the driving culture and conditions differ from the areas we regularly operate.” It also tested vehicles in Atlanta in 2018.
AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES IN GEORGIA
A bill allowing self-driving cars to operate on public roads was signed into law in 2017 by then-Gov. Nathan Deal.
There have since been small-scale autonomous shuttle services operating in Georgia, including a self-driving shuttle on a test track along Technology Parkway connected with the Curiosity Lab at Peachtree Corners. Another operates on a pedestrian bridge in the Cumberland area near Truist Park operated during events like Braves games.
Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens earlier this year floated the idea of self-driving pods as a possible alternative to light rail planned for the Beltline. And a pilot project for a fleet of driverless pods is planned for the Georgia International Convention Center campus near Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.
But the plan for self-driving Uber rides in Atlanta is much broader and far-reaching than those smaller tests and projects, with autonomous vehicles on city streets that are available to the public through the popular Uber app.
SAFETY CONCERNS
The plans to launch robotaxis in Atlanta comes as crashes involving autonomous vehicles have raised safety concerns and after the launch of a federal investigation into incidents involving Waymo vehicles.
A majority of drivers in the United States say they feel fear or uncertainty about fully self-driving cars, according to a AAA survey earlier this year.
In June, Waymo voluntarily recalled software in its cars after one of its vehicles crashed into a pole in Phoenix and updated the software and map in affected vehicles. That followed a voluntary recall by Waymo in February of a previous version of its self-driving software after two of its vehicles hit a pickup truck that was being towed.
In May 2023, a Waymo vehicle hit and killed a small dog that ran into the street in front of a car in San Francisco, according to a report the company filed with the California Department of Motor Vehicles.
There have also been incidents with self-driving cars involving injuries to people. Last October, a woman who was the victim of a hit-and-run by a human driver that launched her into the path of a self-driving car was then dragged by the autonomous vehicle, operated by General Motors’ Cruise division. The woman was seriously injured, and California subsequently suspended Cruise’s driverless permits.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in May cited reports of 22 incidents involving Waymo vehicles in which a vehicle equipped with Waymo’s system was either in a collision with parked vehicles or objects like gates and chains or the vehicle “exhibited driving behavior that potentially violated traffic safety laws.” In that report, NHTSA said it is investigating Waymo’s automated driving system performance in such incidents.
Waymo has a webpage showing data on the safety record of its fleet. It said one reinsurance firm concluded Waymo is “safer than human-driven vehicles.”
“At Waymo, we aim to reduce traffic injuries and fatalities by driving safely and responsibly and will carefully manage risk as we scale our operations,” the company said.
AAA said a survey it conducted in January found that 66% of U.S. drivers express fear and 25% express uncertainty about fully self-driving vehicles.
WAYMO'S EXPANSION
Mountain View, California-based Waymo started as Google’s self-driving car project in 2009. It spun off in 2016 as an independent subsidiary of Alphabet, Google’s parent company, and started testing autonomous taxi services in Phoenix in 2017.
In the cities where it already operates out West, Waymo said it provides more than 100,000 trips a week.
Some tourists visiting San Francisco make a point of trying to hail a Waymo robotaxi through the Waymo app to check off “ride in a self-driving car” from their bucket list, according to a May article in The New York Times.
In Phoenix, where Waymo and Uber’s partnership is already in operation, Uber customers can opt in to autonomous vehicle in their ride preferences to “increase their chances of being matched with an AV,” according to Uber’s website. If matched, they then have the option to accept the ride or find another one. When the Waymo vehicle arrives, riders use the Uber app to unlock the vehicle. They can request customer support in the vehicle or through the Uber app.
“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,” Waymo co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana said in a written statement.
Uber will manage the fleet of autonomous vehicles, handling cleaning and repairs, while Waymo will provide rider support and roadside assistance, the companies said.
HOW WAYMO RIDES ON UBER WILL WORK WHEN LAUNCHED IN ATLANTA IN EARLY 2025
- Uber customers can opt in to autonomous vehicles in their ride preferences to “increase their chances of being matched with an AV.”
- If matched, they then have the option to accept the ride or find another one.
- When the Waymo vehicle arrives, riders use the Uber app to unlock the vehicle. They can request customer support in the vehicle or through the Uber app.
©2024 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
