Waymo has begun fully driverless freeway rides in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Phoenix with no human backup

Waymo has started running fully driverless robotaxis on freeways in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Phoenix, with no human backup inside, becoming the first company in the U.S. to do so. Beginning Wednesday, the Alphabet-owned firm said the service is available 24/7, but only to selected riders who’ve opted in to their new features. The move, according to a statement from the company, is part of a gradual rollout that will stretch across its existing urban service areas. This is the first time any company in the U.S. is offering commercial, highway-level rides with no safety driver in the vehicle. While traditional cabs and rideshare companies like Uber operate freely on freeways, Waymo’s robotaxis had until now stayed off them. The company confirmed that by removing that restriction, passengers could now take shorter, faster trips, without having to reroute around highways. Waymo goes driverless on highways as Tesla, others lag...

https://www.cryptopolitan.com/waymos-robotaxis-hit-u-s-freeways/