/ Austin will be the Alphabet company’s fourth commercial market. Waymo aims to offer passenger service in the city’s downtown and other popular destinations. By Andrew J. Hawkins, transportation editor with 10+ years of experience who covers EVs, public transportation, and aviation. His work has appeared in The New York Daily News and City &… Continue reading Waymo’s robotaxis will start picking up passengers in Austin, Texas, later this year
Tag: Waymo/Google
Waymo One heads to Austin
It’s official. Austin will be Waymo’s fourth major ride-hail city, joining Metro Phoenix, San Francisco and Los Angeles, as we continue to expand and build momentum for our commercial ride-hail business. For the past few months, our team tested in and around downtown in our all-electric Jaguar I-PACE vehicles to reacquaint the generalizable Waymo Driver… Continue reading Waymo One heads to Austin
Uber reports first quarterly operating profit in Q2 2023 results
Uber has reported an operating profit during a fiscal quarter for the first time in its history. The company reported its second-quarter earnings for 2023 [PDF] on Tuesday morning, which included a net income of $394 million for the quarter, up $1.0 billion year-over-year and $588 million versus the preceding quarter. The company attributed its… Continue reading Uber reports first quarterly operating profit in Q2 2023 results
Uber safety driver involved in fatal self-driving car crash pleads guilty
The driver’s case raises questions about responsibility in autonomous crashes. The Uber safety driver at the wheel during the first known fatal self-driving car crash involving a pedestrian has pleaded guilty to and been sentenced for an endangerment charge. Rafaela Vasquez will serve three years of probation for her role in the 2018 Tempe, Arizona… Continue reading Uber safety driver involved in fatal self-driving car crash pleads guilty
What Self-Driving Cars Tell Us About AI Risks
In 2016, just weeks before the Autopilot in his Tesla drove Joshua Brown to his death, I pleaded with the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation to regulate the use of artificial intelligence in vehicles. Neither my pleading nor Brown’s death could stir the government to action. Since then, automotive AI in the… Continue reading What Self-Driving Cars Tell Us About AI Risks
Uber’s Fatal Self-Driving Car Crash Saga Ends With the Operator Avoiding Prison
While Vasquez and Uber may find some closure in the plea deal, self-driving expert Bryant Walker Smith says the NTSB should revisit the Slack issue to find the truth. “I don’t want the story of the first automated vehicle fatality to be a lie. Or be a matter of disputes,” says Walker Smith, a law… Continue reading Uber’s Fatal Self-Driving Car Crash Saga Ends With the Operator Avoiding Prison
Waymo: Commitment to trucks is being scaled back
Waymo plans to scale back truck automation while focusing more on the ride-hailing service business. Six years after Waymo first tested its autonomous vehicle system in heavy-duty trucks, the company is rolling back the program. The company stressed that the decision was driven by commercial considerations. Robot taxis have always been a central part of… Continue reading Waymo: Commitment to trucks is being scaled back
Waymo pushes back its self-driving truck efforts to focus on ride hailing
The company wants robotaxis to become successful first. Don’t expect to see many Waymo-powered autonomous big rigs in the near future. Waymo now plans to “push back” its driverless trucking efforts and shift its attention toward its One ride-hailing service. The move will help the company concentrate on making these self-driving taxis a “commercial success,”… Continue reading Waymo pushes back its self-driving truck efforts to focus on ride hailing
Waymo is scaling back its self-driving truck ambitions
/ Alphabet-owned Waymo will focus on its driverless taxi services and scale back on its Via division, where it planned to make autonomous semi trucks. By Umar Shakir, a news writer fond of the electric vehicle lifestyle and things that plug in via USB-C. He spent over 15 years in IT support before joining The… Continue reading Waymo is scaling back its self-driving truck ambitions
Waymo puts the brakes on self-driving trucks program
Waymo is tapping the brakes on self-driving trucks and shifting most of its capital, resources and talent to one commercial bet: ride-hailing. The move, which was announced Wednesday in a company blog post, comes six years after Waymo first tested its autonomous vehicle system in Class 8 trucks. The company emphasized the decision was driven… Continue reading Waymo puts the brakes on self-driving trucks program