Google Sister Waymo Rolls Out Self-Driving Taxi Service To The Public

Alphabet Inc’s GOOGL GOOG self-driving unit Waymo said Thursday it is opening its driverless service to the general public.

What Happened: The driverless offering of Waymo would be available beginning Thursday — initially available to those part of Waymo One, the company's CEO John Krafcik said in a statement.

The robo-taxi service is available in Phoenix, Arizona and service will be expanded to all users of its app — which can be downloaded from Google Play or Apple Inc’s AAPL App Store — in the coming weeks, said Krafcik.

Why It Matters: Waymo is expected to launch the service only with driverless cars in a larger 100 square mile area in Phoenix using Pacifica minivans made by partner Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV FCAU, reported Reuters.

Some vehicles will reportedly still have attendants on board.

This year, the Google self-driving unit announced two partnerships centered on self-driving, one which deepens the existing relationship with Fiat Chrysler, and another new one with Volvo Cars Group.

In June, Amazon.com, Inc AMZN purchased rival firm Zoox for $1 billion. The Jeff Bezos-led company is offering $100 million in stock inducements to retain talent at Zoox post-acquisition. 

Uber Inc UBER self-driving efforts were met with a setback after a collision left a pedestrian dead in 2018; the back-up driver for the vehicle was charged with negligent homicide last month, BBC reported.

Rival Lyft Inc. LYFT resumed self-driving vehicle testing on public roads in California in July after remaining paused due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Price Action: Alphabet Class A shares closed 1.66% higher at $1,483.43 and Class C shares closed 1.76% higher at $1,485.93 on Thursday.

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