The new driverless option in Austin, Texas is part of Uber’s partnership with autonomous driving company Waymo. Through their collaboration, Uber riders can get matched up with a driverless vehicle in the city according to reports from Travel and Leisure.
Uber said in a statement obtained by T&L “we’re reimagining how the world moves and building a future where autonomous vehicles and drivers work side by side to help make transportation more affordable, sustainable, and accessible for all.”
Austin is just the first city to implement the Uber/Waymo collaboration. Soon driverless vehicles will be available in Atlanta via Uber. Currently, Waymo One is used to hail driverless cars in cities like San Francisco, Phoenix, and Los Angeles.
Waymo was launched in 2009, and in 2020 the company became the first to offer driverless car services to the public without safety drivers in the vehicle.
Now, the app Waymo One provides hundreds of thousands of driverless trips every week for locals and tourists alike. In fact, Waymo claims the service generates tens of millions of dollars in economic activity for the regions in which it operates.
For more information about the the evolving safety and challenges of self-driving cars click here.
