If you've been seeing more Waymo robotaxis recently in Phoenix, San Francisco and Los Angeles, that's because more and more people are hailing one for a ride. The Alphabet-owned company has announced on Twitter/X that it's now serving more than 50,000 paid trips every week across three cities. Waymo One operates 24/7 in parts of those cities. If the company is getting 50,000 rides a week, that means it receives an average of 300 bookings every hour or five bookings every minute. Waymo has revealed, as well, that it's had over one million rider-only trips across four cities, including Austin, where it's currently offering limited rides to select members of the public.
In its announcement, Waymo credited its "safe and deliberate approach" to scaling its program for reaching the milestone. "We see people from all walks of life use our service to travel carefree, gain independence, reclaim their commute and more. Fully autonomous ride-hailing is a reality and a preferred mobility option for people navigating their cities every day," it added.
While Waymo certainly seems to be doing better than Cruise, which only recently re-deployed some of its autonomous vehicles following a much-needed hiatus, it's had its share of controversies. In April, six Waymo robotaxis blocked traffic in a San Francisco freeway, and it was just one of the instances wherein the company's vehicles caused traffic blockage. Earlier this year, two Waymo vehicles crashed into the same pickup truck one after the other, because their software had incorrectly predicted the future movements of the truck. The company issued a software recall after the incident to fix the issue and prevent similar incidents from happening.
Our safe and deliberate approach to scaling the Waymo Driver is gaining traction, as we’re now serving more than 50,000 paid trips every week across three major cities. Thank you to our riders for trusting us to get you to your destinations safely and reliably. pic.twitter.com/g0ws4QnV7v
— Waymo (@Waymo) May 9, 2024
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