If you’ve been to San Francisco in recent years, you’ve probably noticed the presence of driverless private white taxis. This is not sorcery, but rather cars from the fleet of the Google-affiliated company Waymo, or rather its holding company Alphabet.
As the company recently stated, the project is now going to expand an official appeal to the authorities of Los Angeles with a request to launch a robot taxi service in the “city of angels”.
Launching for Google soon
Waymo shared the news via a post on its X account, saying that it has officially requested permission from local authorities to begin racing its robotaxi in the California city. The initiative follows Waymo’s operation last October, when it offered free rides in its taxis to a limited number of passengers in certain areas of Los Angeles in collaboration with Geely. At the time, the event was just a PR move, but now it seems that Waymo is ready to somehow “realize” its presence in Los Angeles, following the example of San Francisco, where autonomous taxis are an integral part of the urban fabric.
Waymo’s fleet in San Francisco currently has 250 robot taxis, but dozens of vehicles could soon join them in testing in Phoenix in the coming weeks. In addition to Los Angeles, Waymo is exploring the possibility of expanding in Austin, Texas, a stone’s throw from Tesla’s Gigafactory.
Positive results for mobility
According to Waymo, the introduction of robot taxis has already had a significant impact on urban mobility. A recent study by the company found a 57% reduction in traffic accidents reported by the police during the period of operation of autonomous taxisand a significant 85% reduction in personal injury accidents.
This data is based on more than 11 million miles driven by the company’s autonomous vehicles in the San Francisco area.
Compared to accidents caused by human drivers in the same areas, autonomous vehicles perform better.
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Source: Auto Plus
Robert is an experienced journalist who has been covering the automobile industry for over a decade. He has a deep understanding of the latest technologies and trends in the industry and is known for his thorough and in-depth reporting.