Googles Waymo is inviting hundreds of people to test out its self-driving vehicles
- Tuesday, April 25th, 2017
- Share this article:
Waymo is inviting people to sign up to a free early rider program in the city of Phoenix, Arizona. The program will enable residents to have everyday access to self-driving vehicles and contributing feedback to the Google self-driving car project spinoff in return.
The trial will see residents in parts of the Phoenix metropolitan area, including Chandler, Tempe, Mesa, and Gilbert, having the opportunity to be transported around the area in either a Lexus RX450h or a Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid minivan.
“Over the course of this trial, we’ll be accepting hundreds of people with diverse backgrounds and transportation needs who want to ride in and give feedback about Waymo’s self-driving cars,” said John Krafcik, Waymo CEO, in a blog post. “Rather than offering people one or two rides, the goal of this program is to give participants access to our fleet every day, at any time, to go anywhere within an area that’s about twice the size of San Francisco.
“Our early riders will play an important role in shaping the way we bring self-driving technology into the world?—?through personal cars, public transportation, ride-hailing, logistics and more,” he added. “Self-driving cars have the potential to reshape each and every one of these areas, transforming our lives and our cities by making them safer, more convenient and more accessible.”
In addition to launching the trial in Phoenix, Waymo has added 500 self-driving Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid minivans to it fleet – adding to the 100 it acquired back in December 2016. In the same month, Waymo began talks with Honda about integrating its self-driving technology into Honda vehicles.