Waymo has announced that its driverless robo-taxi service, Waymo One, will begin offering rides to the public in four major cities across the US. From March 14, the service will be available to select members of the public in Los Angeles and, later in 2024, Waymo plans to launch it in Austin, Texas, according to a press release on March 13.
In Los Angeles, the Alphabet subsidiary will begin offering rides in a 63-square-mile area from Santa Monica to Downtown LA, scaling its operations over time. Initially these rides will be free, though, in the near future, Waymo intends to transition to offering a paid service in this area with the California Public Utilities Commission’s approval. As part of this rollout, Waymo will permanently welcome riders into the service, gradually onboarding those on its Los Angeles wait-list while handing out temporary codes at local events throughout the city.
In Austin, the company is currently testing fully autonomous rides across a 43-square-mile area encompassing its downtown area, Barton Hills, Riverside, East Austin, Hyde Park and more. At this stage of testing, Waymo is only providing employees in Austin with access to Waymo One, though it plans to open the service to the public later in 2024.
While Waymo has not yet confirmed when its service will launch for public use in Austin, it has opened a wait-list for the city, allowing interested customers to register ahead of its launch.
