Austinites who frequent or live in Central Austin are likely familiar with the sight of Waymo’s driverless cars, zipping around (or idling), whirligigs spinning on top. Now two tech behemoths are partnering to get paying riders in their back seats.
Waymo, a subsidiary of Google parent company Alphabet, started testing fully autonomous vehicles in 43 square miles of central Austin — including downtown, Barton Hills, Riverside, East Austin, and Hyde Park — in March.
Waymo and Uber announced Friday that the companies have expanded their partnership and are set to bring Waymo One driverless cabs to Austin and Atlanta. Uber will manage and dispatch a fleet of Waymo’s autonomous, all-electric Jaguar I-PACE vehicles in the two cities in early 2025, with eventual plans to deploy “hundreds” in the metros. The service will be available through the Uber app only.,
Uber will provide fleet management services, including vehicle cleaning, repair, and other general depot operations, according to Waymo’s announcement. Waymo will continue to test and operate the Waymo Driver, including providing roadside assistance and some rider support functions.
Waymo One already operates in San Francisco, Phoenix, and Los Angeles. Waymo deployed its vehicles in Austin, initially with backup humans aboard, in 2015. The company recently began giving fully autonomous rides to its employees in Austin.
AV Ride and ADMT Volkswagen also have autonomous vehicles on Austin streets.
After GM-backed company Cruise suspended Austin operations fall 2023, city officials discussed the ways in which the city is hampered from enforcing local traffic laws on autonomous vehicles and holding them accountable for traffic violations and other incidents.
In May, the National Highway Safety Administration began an investigation of Waymo, citing the vehicles’ “unexpected behavior,” including 17 separate accidents (none in Austin) identified by NHTSA data. The NHTSA had also launched preliminary investigations into "most major players in the AV space,” the Verge reported at the time, "including Tesla, GM’s Cruise, Ford, Zoox, and others."
