Alphabet’s Waymo will launch a driverless ride-hailing service and has tested the cars on public roads in Arizona, Reuters has reported.
The test was the first in the United States to have no human in the driver’s seat, which is standard practice in case of a technology failure.
Waymo said members of the public will begin riding in its fleet of Fiat Chrysler Pacifica minivans without human drivers in a test run of the service in the next few months in certain areas of Phoenix, Arizona.
Members of the public taking part in the company’s trial in Phoenix will be its first customers, using a ride-hailing app.
At first, those passengers will be accompanied in the back seat by a Waymo employee, but eventually they will travel alone, although they will be able to hit a button to stop the car.
It will roll out the service to the wider public at a later date, although it did not say when.
“Because we see so much potential in shared mobility, the first way people will get to experience Waymo’s fully self-driving technology will be as a driverless service,” Waymo CEO John Krafcik said after announcing the launch in Lisbon.
The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration did not immediately comment on Tuesday but said in September last year that conventionally designed vehicles that can be operated autonomously faced no specific federal legal barrier.
General Motors Co, which acquired autonomous driving start-up Cruise Automation for a reported $1 billion last year, has also signalled its intent to test a driverless taxi service in the near future.
