The first US commercial ride-hailing service without human drivers has been approved. Waymo, a unit of Alphabet Inc, received a permit late last month from the Arizona Department of Transportation to operate as a transportation network company, according to Ryan Harding, a spokesman at the state agency. The designation lets Waymo’s fleet of driverless Chrysler Pacifica minivans pick up and drop off paying riders in Arizona through a smartphone app or Web site, the spokesman said on Friday. Uber Technologies Inc and Lyft Inc are good examples of transportation network companies in the state, Harding added. Waymo is a pioneer in autonomous vehicles, but rivals including Uber and General Motors Co’s Cruise division are racing to catch up. The technology is still being tested in many regions, but it could transform the way people move around, especially in cities, potentially making the nascent industry worth hundreds of billions of dollars. “As we continue to test-drive our fleet of vehicles in greater Phoenix, we’re taking all the steps necessary to launch our commercial service this year,” a Waymo spokesman wrote in an e-mail. Waymo plans to start the service in Phoenix this year. It is to be limited by the number of vehicles Waymo has at the moment — the company has said “thousands” — although a network of driverless cars will be able to reach more people than a similar number of personally-owned vehicles that often sit idle for most of the day. Waymo has not said yet what it will charge riders, but without human drivers, the cost could be competitive with Uber and Lyft’s human-powered networks. Last year, Waymo started a free “early rider program” in the Arizona capital, where hundreds of people use a Waymo app to hail and use cars within a 100-square-mile radius. In November, Waymo began testing vehicles in parts of the city without a driver at the wheel, a first for the industry. Waymo agreed earlier this year to buy “thousands” more Pacifica minivans from Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV equipped for autonomous driving. That added to an existing minivan fleet of about 600 vehicles. Waymo has other plans beyond ride hailing, including personal-use vehicles, logistics, deliveries and “working with cities to help them address public transportation objectives,” Alphabet chief financial officer Ruth Porat said during a recent conference call with analysts. Separately, Yandex NV, Russia’s largest Internet company, has tested its self-driving car on public roads in icy conditions after a recent snowstorm. Yandex.Taxi’s autonomous Toyota Prius navigated several kilometers in central Moscow during light rain and minus-6°C temperatures, according to a company blog post on Friday. The Russian company’s ultimate goal is to achieve functionality such that no steering wheel, brake pedal or human is required in order for a car to reach a destination. Yandex.Taxi’s driveless car uses cameras and lidar, a sensing method that uses laser pulses to measure distances. The vehicle also uses GPS, online maps and computer vision technology to lead its movement, according to Yandex. Comments will be moderated. Keep comments relevant to the article. Remarks containing abusive and obscene language, personal attacks of any kind or promotion will be removed and the user banned. Final decision will be at the discretion of the Taipei Times.
Alphabet-owned Waymo will launch a fleet of self-driving cars in Phoenix later this year after being granted a permit to operate as a taxi firm. The company said it would be the first commercial ride-hailing service that uses autonomous vehicles and has been approved by regulators for use on public roads. Waymo hasn't released any price details but it's thought the company will be able to undercut ride-hailing services Uber and Lyft.