The ‘Robotaxi’ Movement Just Took A Major Step Forward

Even as Tesla continues to tease its much-anticipated Robotaxi, a number of other companies already have self-driving vehicles shuttling individuals across several U.S. cities. Now, one of the leading names in this emerging industry is even closer to releasing a fleet of driverless taxis onto the streets of Austin, Texas.

The Uber connection

For Waymo, the path toward widespread adoption of its autonomous cars has been anything but smooth. But its long-term strategy appears to be paying off, as evidenced by the recent progress in Texas.

The company has long been operating self-driving taxis in Phoenix, but expansions planned elsewhere in the U.S. will deepen the company’s association with the Uber ride-sharing platform.

In addition to Austin, another state capital — Atlanta, Georgia — is also expected to start seeing Waymo taxis cruise through town soon. For now, access is only available on a trial basis, but the Waymo-Uber collaboration is expected to reach fruition next year.

Riders with early access will use the Waymo One ride-hailing app, but those features are expected to be shifted into the Uber app by 2025.

The waiting game

Since it’s going to be a while before the full-scale rollout of this service, there’s a backlog of volunteer passengers across Austin currently on the waitlist. It wasn’t clear from available reports whether those early riders would pay a fare.

It also remains to be seen how many vehicles will be included in the trial run.

But there are a few details we do know:

• The Austin service area will span 37 square miles
• Waymo will be providing Jaguar I-PACE vehicles
• A robotaxi from Chinese automaker Zeekr is coming

Waymo has made progress in recent years, but it’ll be up to the people of Austin and Atlanta to determine if it succeeds in their communities.

Chris Agee October 3rd, 2024

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