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Waymo offers free rides in Arizona as its self-driving cars move into beta testing
Waymo Inc., Google parent Alphabet Inc.’s self-driving car division, has opened up a new testing program in Phoenix to the general public.
Starting as of today, anyone in the Phoenix metropolitan area, including Gilbert, Tempe, Mesa and Chandler, can apply to join the “Early Riders” testing program. Should their application be successful, they will be provided free on-demand rides using Waymo self-driving vehicles.
Who gets selected for the program naturally isn’t random. Waymo is selecting participants based on the types of trips they may wish to take and their commitment to using the self-driving service as their primary mode of transportation.
“Over the course of this trial, we’ll be accepting hundreds of people with diverse backgrounds and transportation needs who want to ride in and give feedback about Waymo’s self-driving cars,” Waymo Chief Executive Officer John Krafcik said in a post on Medium. “Rather than offering people one or two rides, the goal of this program is to give participants access to our fleet every day, at any time, to go anywhere within an area that’s about twice the size of San Francisco.”
Along with the launch of the beta testing program, Waymo also announced that it’s expanding its testing fleet sixfold, adding 500 hybrid Chrysler Pacifica vans to its existing fleet of 100 vehicles currently on the roads of Phoenix as part of a closed alpha testing program. That program, at least according to Waymo, was highly successful with the company able to provide ongoing transport for a small number of participants.
The rollout of broader testing by Waymo will be ringing alarm bells in the San Francisco office of Uber Technologies Inc. Despite having launched testing in Pittsburgh last year, the ride-hailing giant is starting to slip behind the former Google self-driving car division in terms of vehicles on the road and also the strength of its technology. Uber self-driving vehicles are more prone to accidents and that technology is alleged to have been stolen from Waymo to begin with.
Those living in Phoenix can apply to join the program from the application form featured on the Waymo website.
Picture: Waymo
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