Uber is one step closer to allowing customers to greet a driving vehicle in Austin, Texas, through its application. The company opened its own List of interests So that iousubopitic drivers can declare their interest in potentially matching A. Wejmo Robotaxi, after that partnership begins “soon” in Austen.
In September, Uber and Weimo, the self-driving hand of the Google's parent company alphabet, announced the expansion of their partnership in Austin and AtlantaOnce I already had teamed up in Phoenix the previous year.
In October, Veimo began to allow a “limited number of early drivers” in Austin to greet robotics through his own Weymo one Application, noting that this is a Stepsing stone Until its commercial launch with Uber in early 2025.
Now Veimo and Uber are one step closer to that officially launch. As part of the partnership, Uber will manage tasks like cleaning vehicles and repair, while “Vejmo will continue to be responsible for testing and working for the Wamo driver, including road assistance and certain driver support features,” companies say. in the previous statement. (In Atlanta, Wammo said public drivers can catch a driver without a driver through the Uber app, starting this year.)
To join the list of interests, Uber drivers in Atlanta first need to update the application and then tap Account > Settings, And find Autonomous vehicles under Driving Preferences Menu. Then, hit Join the interest list. Uber says that if drivers do not give up, they will not match an autonomous vehicle.
When partnership begins, drivers will be able to travel 37 square miles from Austin, with plans for future expansion. Perhaps most importantly, Uber says customers will pay the same rate for Waymo Robotaxi as they would be for Uberx, Uber Green, Uber Comfort or Uber Comfort Electric Ride and see in advance prices in the application.
This can be a critical step to get more people to buy the idea of greeting autonomous driving. In other cities where Wammo works like San Francisco and Los Angeles, customers need to download the special Waymo One app to greet a ride (in Phoenix, you have the opportunity to use Waymo One or Uber). And to my personal experience, Wammo is often a little more expensive than standard driving with Uber or Lyft. But if people have the opportunity to simply greet robotaxes from an application they regularly use, and Prices are constantly comparable to standard man-driven options, they can be more tempting to give them footage and go out of their comfort zone.
Independent vehicles are still newborn technology, but they saw Relatively stable growth In recent years. Veimo is undoubtedly the biggest player, but companies as owned by Amazon Zamx They are also struggling for a piece of profitable pie, with plans to start commercially this year. Startups like Avrid and Can mobility They also have expansions in the works. Elon Musk of Tesla said last week that the company plans to launch its own service to drive As early as June, starting from Austin, before the scheduled calculation of his Cybercab in 2027.
In December, Generalennal Motors said it would be No longer fund their cruise robotix investmentEmphasizing the difficulty – and suitable – the building and scaling of autonomous driving technology.
There are, surprisingly, security problems when it comes to driver -free vehicles, and companies like Weimo, Zox and Cruz are included in a number of incidents Over the years. However, these companies maintained the safety of their appropriate vehicles and technology – especially compared to human drivers. A Waymo's data center Posted in September, it states that after driving over 22 million miles, its self-driving technology was included in “73% less accidents causing injuries and 48% less accidents reported to police than human drivers.”
For his part, Uber says Veimo's drivers will have access to human support 24/7 through the Uber application and the interior of Veimo (there are front and back screens allowing you to quickly call customer support). It could help soften some drivers to take rotation slaves.
Watch this: Electrical Robotax of the 6th Waymo General at CES 2025