Waymo Hits 700K Driverless Rides As Product Chief Admits More Work Left For Safe Scaling Of Autonomous Tech

Alphabet Inc‘s GOOG GOOGL autonomous driving technology unit, Waymo, said on Tuesday that it has provided over 700,000 fully autonomous trips to ride hailers so far this year, marking its performance even amidst increased concerns on the safety of autonomous vehicles.

What Happened: “Thank you Waymo One riders for taking over 700,000 fully autonomous trips so far this year!” Waymo wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

Waymo Chief Product Officer Saswat Panigrahi also noted the landmark on X and added, “Much more work to do to safely scale our tech, but excited to welcome more riders in more places in 2024.”

Why It Matters: The company has marked this milestone amidst increasing skepticism for AV technology. Earlier this month, several unions and labor groups on Thursday wrote to the U.S. Department of Transportation and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) pressing for open investigations into automated vehicle operators including Waymo, Zoox, and Beep citing grave safety concerns.

"Let us be clear: ADS-equipped vehicle operations are unsafe and untenable in their current form. This industry is in dire need of federal regulation and leadership to restore a modicum of safety and establish a realistic path for these vehicles to operate without threatening other road users – including those represented by these unions," the letter stated. 

Autonomous vehicle operators have been at the receiving end of flak since a Cruise AV got involved in an accident in early October. In the incident, a human-driven vehicle traveling adjacent to a Cruise AV collided with a pedestrian, sending the pedestrian across the vehicle and onto the ground in the path of the AV.

The AV made contact with a pedestrian and pulled them forward by about 20 feet. Cruise has currently halted all operations in the U.S.

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