Google’s Waymo Autonomous Cars are Ready for Passengers

Google has been working on autonomous cars for eight years now and those vehicles have put in two million miles with a big milestone now reached. The Waymo fleet of vehicles is now ready to carry passengers. Waymo has announced that it is now taking applications starting today for Phoenix, Arizona residents who want to test the expanded fleet of Chrysler Pacifica plug-in hybrid minivans that are fitted with the Waymo autonomous car sensors.

Waymo plans to license its autonomous technology to ride-hailing companies to help get back some of the money that has been invested in the technology since the project started. Arizona law allows self-driving cars to be tested with no driver behind the wheel. However, Waymo does plan to put a Waymo employee behind the wheel of the vehicles to start reports USA Today.

Waymo says that the human will be behind the wheel to help the company gather data about the way people use the ride service and that the vehicle will be doing all the driving on its own. Waymo plans to add significantly more vehicles to its service with a bump to 600 Pacificas representing an additional 500 vehicles on top of the 100 it already has.

These additional 500 vehicles will begin production next month and will then be fitted with all the Waymo sensors. Participants in the Phoenix program will be allowed to use the Pacificas for anything from going to sporting events to commuting to and from work. People who are chosen for the pilot will get the rides at no cost. Phoenix was chosen because it is a location where people are dependent on cars to get around.