A Waymoyes Alphabetreported on Tuesday (12) that its autonomous ride-sharing service, the Waymo Oneis available to the general public in Los Angeles, in a sign of rapid growth and adoption of the technology.
Waymo closed a round of financing 5.6 billion dollars last month. Automakers and technology companies are betting big on driverless technology to promote future growth even while facing strict regulatory scrutiny.
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The company said that almost 300,000 people joined its waiting list after it began commercial operations in Los Angeles earlier this year, signaling strong demand.
Waymo opened access to its ride-hailing service to the public in San Francisco in June of this year and in Phoenix, Arizona, in 2020.
“Our service has matured quickly and our passengers are embracing the many benefits of fully autonomous driving“, said Tekedra Mawakana, co-CEO of Waymo.
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Waymo, based in Mountain View, California, is a pioneer in autonomous driving technology and started its first driverless taxi service in the US in 2020, more than a decade after it was born as a project within the Google.
Tesla’s chief executive, Elon Musksaid in October that the electric vehicle maker will launch driverless ride-hailing services to the public in California and Texas next year, indicating growing competition in the autonomous ride-hailing market.
A rival Cruiseyes General Motorsis testing cars with safety drivers after a accident last year led her to remove all vehicles from the streets. Meanwhile, the Zooxyes Amazonis expanding testing of its vehicles built without steering wheels and pedals.
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