Bottom line: Waymo’s self-driving taxi service is finally back on the right path after overcoming regulatory setbacks in California earlier this summer. According to co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana, the company recently surpassed the 100,000 paid trips per week threshold. It’s a significant achievement considering the company only crossed the 50,000 paid trips a week mark back in May, and operates commercially in just four cities.
A Waymo spokesperson told CNBC that most of its trips now take place in San Francisco. Phoenix, Austin, and Los Angeles are the three other markets that Waymo’s driverless taxis serve. The company’s fleet consists of around 700 vehicles, but that could grow significantly in the near future.
Back in July, parent company Alphabet announced it was investing $5 billion more into the autonomous driving tech company. Earlier this week, Waymo detailed its latest self-driving technology, which should help the company’s vehicles tackle a wider array of weather conditions without needing as many sensors and cameras.
According to Waymo, its self-driving system is three times better at avoiding crashes reported to the police than humans, and 3.5 times better in avoiding crashes that cause injuries.
Waymo doesn’t have much domestic competition at the moment. Last October, General Motors subsidiary Cruise halted its driverless program nationwide as part of an effort to “rebuild public trust.” Earlier that month, one of the company’s driverless vehicles was involved in an accident with a pedestrian. According to a report from the San Francisco Chronicle, a human driver hit a pedestrian, knocking her into the next lane where she was again struck. The Cruise vehicle came to a stop with one of its rear wheels pinning her leg.
Do you have any experience with robotaxis? The tech hasn’t yet made its way to a city near me and even if it was available locally, I’m not sure I’m ready to trust my life to an autonomous vehicle. That could change in a few years with further advancements but for now, I’m more comfortable with a human behind the wheel.
