Alphabet's Waymo is now looking to expand to another city for its autonomous ride-hailing services present in three other cities in the country, with Austin, Texas as its latest destination. With Waymo centering its business on the Waymo One ride-hailing service, the company's expansion would see a great deal of focus and attention.
The company's autonomous fleet also centers on an all-electric ride, making this a plus for those commuting, knowing that they are also doing their part for the environment.
Waymo is Coming to Austin for Autonomous Ride-Hailing Service
The Waypoint blog post of the famed company, Waymo, announced the arrival of its Waymo One autonomous ride-hailing service in Austin, Texas. The company's fourth location will center on the midwest part of the country, with Alphabet's ride-hailing services still focusing on the western hemisphere.
Waymo One will soon be available, but not for a long time, as it already announced the testing of its autonomous services in the downtown area of Austin. Waymo claimed that its all-electric fleet powered by the Jaguar I-PACE will bring mapping and autonomous services to the public.
"Austin is one of the most vibrant and dynamic cities in the country, and we've found that the Waymo Driver is adapting to its complex cityscape incredibly quickly," said Saswat Panigrahi, Chief Product Officer at Waymo.
Waymo One's Massive Focus on Alphabet
In its recent announcement, Waymo claimed that it is "doubling down" on the Waymo One's development and expansion in the country. It announced that it will put the Waymo and DTNA partnership to the sidelines to focus on its public services for now, with its massive expansion seeing Austin as its next destination.
Waymo and its Services
First, it was in San Francisco where Waymo started, and competitor, Cruise from GM also piloted their program here in the city, among the firsts who accepted autonomous ride-hailing services in the country. In SF, there were two companies who are operating, but these two, Waymo and Cruise, also saw massive expansions in other cities.
Waymo's next service centered on Metro Phoenix, with the busy streets of the capital city of Arizona seeing the iconic white cars of the company strolling around as it maps out and provides a ride service.
However, probably one of the largest moves by Waymo in its operations is the partnership with Uber, where its autonomous cars may be hailed through the app, empowering each's service.
The expansion of Waymo's services doubled down for its autonomous driving technology, Waymo One, and the company took this opportunity in expanding to more cities in the country. Now, Waymo is available in Austin, Texas, one of the largest cities in the US, to see the pilot program and mapping of the Waymo One service.
